Where is here?
by Dancing Darkness
Summary: AU, Naruto was snatched from his cradle by the Yondaime when he was a few hours old. He never grew up in Konoha alone. He grew up in a very disfunctional family and now he's ready to take the ninja world by storm...DMCNaruto
1. Three Brothers

Disclaimer: I own nothing. But I wish I did! Enjoy

Lightning flashed high, illuminating a dimly room through the tatters of a pair of moth-eaten curtains. It showed the patched walls and bare boards in stark relief against the precious darkness. The soft tinkling of a newly made mobile could be heard above the roar of the thunder outside as it lulled the occupant of the small cot to sleep. The baby within cooed softly, reaching up his chubby, little hands to grasp at the strange thing above his head. The hand was instead caught in a larger one, though still admittedly small, of a boy who smiled down at the babe widely. He had silver hair and warm, bright eyes. He gently pulled at the baby's mall appendage, his smile widening when the child gurgled happily.

"Ain't he the cutest thing?" the boy commented to his brother, who stood next to him. His silver hair ruffled briefly in the breeze from the open latch. A hand lazily closed the window with a soft snap a moment later.

The other, who emitted an aura of serenity, looked up from the book which had been the focus of his attention for the last hour. He gazed down at the newborn a small smile also on his face. "He does have our father's blood does he not? His power is also assured."

"Power ain't everything, Virgil" his twin remarked cheerfully. The child looked up at the identical twins in slight confusion before yawning widely as his eyes began to droop. "He'll be cold if we don't find him a blanket" he commented, smiling as he stroked some of the silvery blond hair beginning to grow.

"Go and find one then, Dante. I'll go warm up the milk the midwife gave us so we can feed him if he wakes" Virgil replied tiredly, shutting his book and proceeding to the door of the nursery. Dante laughed and ruffled his twin's hair as he passed him when Virgil held the door.

The door clicked shut and soon the only sound was the soft murmur of the baby's breathing and the patter of rain on the window panes. The footsteps were soundless and the silhouette glided across from the window, his cape glittered with droplets like diamonds. He carefully lifted the babe so not to wake it; cerulean eyes stared down at the infant sadly. How he hated to do this. Carefully he placed his hand on the child's head and mumbled select words. The infant's hair changed from silver to blonde and those piercing eyes dulled slightly, as the likeness to his kidnapper set in.

The blond man looked down at the bundle in his arms, and a single tear made its solitary way down his cheek. "I'm sorry" he whispered to the silent room. Then the figure vanished into the darkness.

The only sounds to mourn the babe's theft were the thumping of feet and the angry calls of two brothers desperately searching for their sibling. Lightning flashed and in the distance a great demon roared his anger whilst a small baby screamed.

------

The sunlight filtered vaguely through thick, black curtains to from halos on a crimson carpeted floor. The dimly lit room was covered with dirty, wrinkled clothes, empty drinks cans, tattered books and crumpled papers. On one corner was a large bed covered in pitch black sheets that spilled onto the floor below. Against the adjacent wall was a scratched, battered and worse for wear desk that was covered in diagrams and documents covered in red ink that hid a worn keyboard for an equally worn computer.

The red-painted walls were covered in doodled symbols and archaic shapes. Along the wall, opposite the window and above the desk, hung an odd assortment of objects. The first was a violin; the wood was slightly chipped on the neck and fingerboard, showing its long-term use. Its bow hung alongside lazily. To the left was a set of three blades, linked so they could be wielded as one or as three-separate. They were ice-blue and obviously the user had to wear some kind of hand protection as there was no grip. (A/N: yes it is Cerberus from DMC3) After that followed an assortment of scrolls and a wooden practice sword emblazoned with black runes. Lastly there was a five-foot long steel sword, its surface blazing in the low light. The sword was called Valour and was said to give the bearer courage to face any foe and the will to win any battle.

With a grunt the piled bed sheets began to move and writhe. From beneath them a silver and blonde head emerged, followed by a tan, muscled torso. The boy scratched his hair tiredly before leaning down and patting the floor in search of an object. When the object was found, an eye patch, the boy lethargically pulled it over his sightless left eye. He oozed out of the bed and wandered out of the room, clad in nothing but a pair of green boxers covered in tiny cartoon bananas.

He made his slow way through his third of the manor top floor, making sure to feed his pets before skirting through the extensive library that took up the second floor and the large dojo downstairs. He moved into the kitchen, and throughout the entire way he had avoided his older brothers' rooms and domains. Once inside the kitchen he approached the large, bulky white fridge. It contained various labelled plastic containers that held bloody chunks of interesting creatures…and people.

He pulled a can of cola from its depths along with a red, juicy apple. He slumped down at the table in the centre of the room, happily munching away in a particularly loud manner that he knew infuriated a certain member of the household. It in fact caused said member to come storming into the room, grab hold of and throw the apple at the person previously eating it.

"That's harsh!" the boy cried in protest, rubbing his head where the apple had struck him and coming to his feet angrily.

"You know I hate it when you crunch, runt!" growled the other, using his superior height to loom over the boy.

The boy proceeded to dive at the man and a vicious fight started. A great deal of shouting and punching later the final brother made his appearance, having heard the commotion from his study within the library. He was greeted by the man holding the boy in a headlock loudly shouting as the smaller bit at his arm furiously.

"Dante! Descartes! Apart now!" he said smoothly and with authority. The two separated grudgingly, turning to the eldest of their family. "Dante, you should know better than to show that kind of behaviour! You are twenty-one years of age, at least act like it! Descartes, you are over half an hour late for your Latin lesson! I expect you in the library as soon as you are dressed! Your punishment will be to recite all verb and noun classes, including irregular, semi deponent and deponent variations." With that said the more regal of the three swept out of the room and up the stairs.

"Well done, moron!" Descartes snapped, 'Descartes' was only used when his brother was truly angry. His name had been changed years before- using his true name was saved for either happy or angry occasions.

"You started it, Naruto! Geez, get me a beer while you're up will you? We had a call from Enzo saying we might have a job soon, by the way," Dante replied as he slouched in another chair at the table.

Naruto complied; pulling another can of cola for himself form the fridge also. "Yeah? What kind of job?"

"Traces of demonic blood or at least evidence of some sort of contract in some islands to the east of here. Virgil's thinking of sending you to check it out," Dante replied, sipping his beer. He was dressed in tattered jeans but other than that was shirtless. His long silver bangs twisted slightly in the breeze than came from the open kitchen window.

"Why me? I'm a tad inexperienced you know"

"Virgil's got the specs; he says you'll fit in better. Anyhow, don't you have a lesson to get to?" Dante smiled as Naruto grouched a bit before walking slowly in the general direction of the shower.

-----

It was almost three hours later when Virgil moved onto a topic other than Latin. Even then it was only history, ancient history at that. Naruto though that he'd die sitting among the huge tomes of the library if he stayed any longer. After what seemed like an age Virgil finally began talking about his newest mission.

"It's in the fire country, they're holding some kind of ranking tournament and we plan to use that to sneak you in."

"Ranking tournament?"

"They're a warrior and mercenary culture from what I gather; the competitors will be your age."

"Will they be any good?" Naruto asked in a bored tone.

"None are at my, or Dante's, level, they're only human. They're meant to be in teams of three but we submitted you alone with good references and convinced them to take you," replied his elder brother over his steepled fingers, adding to the upper-class attitude he seemed to exude. He was wearing black slacks and a crisp white dress shirt, open at the collar. Naruto still couldn't believe his older twin brothers could be so different.

"So shall I pack tonight?"

"Yes, your train leaves at noon tomorrow, Dante will take you to the station. We will also be doing a ritual tonight," Virgil was now placing their study books on the shelves where they belonged.

"Fine time to tell me! What's the ritual for?"

"We would not allow you to go so far from our protection without some means of defence, or seal for that matter. These are the last people you need to show your blood lineage to." Virgil wasn't looking at him but Naruto could tell that he had the annoyed crease between his brows that appeared when he was concerned for either Naruto's or Dante's safety.

It was then Naruto realised how much his siblings cared for him. He smiled warmly. "Thanks, Virgil. I love you too."

Virgil merely snorted in denial.

----

The station thronged with people on the following afternoon as a jet black motorbike pulled up at the front. A passenger slid off the back fluidly and pulled of his helmet. He pulled a rucksack out of the saddlebags along with a long, thin parcel and a violin case. He turned to gaze into the station, squinting as the midday some stabbed at his eye. He shouldered his rucksack, "I'll be going now" he muttered quietly.

"Hey, chibi! You take care, you hear? I don't wanna hear no shit about getting yourself injured right? Sons of Sparda don't take shit from no one, got that?" the motorcyclist yelled as the boy turned away.

"Sure thing, D. No one can touch me right?" replied Naruto, visibly smiling from underneath his black cap.

"Right." Dante gave a short wave before driving away.

Naruto pulled some tags out of his pocket and fastened them to the bag as he strode into the station. He was wearing a pair of grey camouflage trousers matched with a black, long-sleeved top and combat boots. His cap was to draw attention away from his eye-patch and obvious missing eye. Today the patch had a smiley face on it. Naruto wanted to appear friendly after all.

He paid for his ticket from the somewhat intimidated clerk and got onto the night train. The journey was going to take a little less than three days continuous travel so he was doing two and half of them by night train. Virgil had given him a passport to get into the competition, some kind of headband which was customarily worn or shown and a set of scrolls that had various weapons sealed within them. He had a map as well, in order to locate the hidden village he was travelling to.

He trudged along the platform toward the sleek silver train and gracefully leapt into it. He wandered until he found his assigned compartment; he then opened the sliding door happily looking forward to the prospect of sleep. Settling into the comfy seat and pillows he gazed out the window at the blurring scenery as the train began to reach top speed after it left the station. Soon the city he knew was a vanishing speck and the countryside was flashing before his startled eye. As soon as the train began tot settle down he pulled a dark hooded, zip up jumper from his rucksack (which was placed above his seat with the parcel and violin case). It was covered in red sewn writing that formed odd archaic symbols. It was in the demonic language, which was one of three that Naruto was fluent in. The exact words of the circle read 'I am in the darkest shadow, I am in the morning sky, I am the haunting soul resting in the abyss'. The circle was part of a blood contract between his family and an abyss demon; it allowed him to sleep in protection as the demon protected him whilst he was unawares because of this contract. Thus, Naruto fell gratefully into a deep, restful sleep.

So how was it? Please read and review! I'd lvoe to hear your comments! Whatever they are! Should I continue?


	2. Where's Konoha?

Dsiclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Devil May cry...it would be faired to say it owns me

Hope you like it, enjoy and review!

Days passed, or they might have done. Naruto spent the entire journey sleeping and not eating at all, and he was in fact quite shocked when the last stop arrived and he was forced to get off the train. He was even more shocked to discover he was hungry. He stood on the platform, slightly dazed before making his way outside onto the road. Weapons here were worn openly so Naruto followed suit, and he unwrapped Cerberus and wore him in a holster across his back. He stretched happily, relaxing like a cat.

He moved away from the deserted station and into the forest where he wandered down the path, not really in a hurry. When out of site of anyone, he made sure he was quite alone and placed his hand face down on the earth bellow him. He began to mutter in a guttural tongue, calling to the shadows. The whole world seem to jolt violently and out of the shadow of a near by tree stepped a tall, black horse. It has a light blue mane and a bad temperament. It approached the crouched boy and sniffed at him.

"Hello there, Mercury. I know I have never called upon you myself, but I would greatly appreciate your speed, descendant of Geryon. Will you permit to rid you awhile, friend?" Naruto said softy as he ran gentle hands over the horse's face.

The regal horse considered him with shrew, obsidian eyes for a moment; his long ears were laid back and silk tail swishing in mild agitation. He trotted on the sport and tossed his beautiful head thoughtfully, causing Naruto to have to back away. Not deterred the boy again reached out a hand slowly and, albeit reluctantly, the demon-horse nosed his palm in acceptance. Mercury relaxed as Naruto ran gentle fingers across his face. "There now, that wasn't so hard was it? I am honoured to ride you" Naruto murmured as he pulled his hand away.

He shrugged his pack from his shoulders and pulled from its depths a scroll that, when he opened it, revealed complex kanji. Virgil had told him of the summoning contracts held by the fighters of this area and how they were similar to his own blood-summoning. Thus this scroll was an example of this and was for Naruto to practice on, plus it was also useful for containing objects so he wouldn't have to carry them. If anything Naruto was very, very lazy. Using his blood and the scroll he called forth a black saddle and bridle; the saddle had straps so he could attach his various belongings to it. He turned to Mercury who was scowling at the saddle and backing away, he sighed, this was going to take some time.

After a few hours of persuasion, cajoling and begging Naruto did manage to get the stubborn horse to accept the bridle and saddle. It took a little long to get him to realise that Naruto had to ride him too. As he gracefully mounted Mercury twitched; Naruto could feel him considering bucking off his tired rider. He was having none of this however, swiftly a pair of booted heels dug into Mercury's flanks. With a shriek the stallion bolted forward and slipped into an easy canter. What Naruto hadn't anticipated was that Mercury's canter was much faster than that of a true, non-demonic horse. So as they flashed through the ever thickening forest it became less of a ride and more a fight to survive. His knuckles were white as he clutched the saddle and reigns, he fought to pull Mercury into control.

Finally Mercury halted when they were breathless, panting and exhausted. Naruto fell sideways out of the saddle onto the dusty earth with a heavy thud. He stared up at the dark sky which was filled with glinting stars that reminded him of diamonds. He closed his solitary eye and smiled. Sitting up he said "lay down and rest those legs of yours, I'll make dinner and a nice warm fire." The animal literally collapsed down next to him as he pulled the matches from his pouch and went in search of kindling and wood to burn.

Before long a merry fire danced before them and both feasted on supplied from the ever-resourceful pack. Naruto leaned on Mercury's sleek flank and planned the journey for the next day. A day's hard ride would bring them close to Konoha but they'd had to skirt a route usually used by returning nin. Not that he minded but Naruto got edgy around normal humans. He was a half-blood and couldn't forget the cruelties he'd suffered because of it.

Well forgive and forget, 'humans are stupid, that's why we have to protect them for themselves', that's what Dante always said when Virgil got frustrated with humans. Nodding resolutely he gave himself over to his dreams, not really minding that he was sleeping rough. The symbols on his jumped glowed red softly as the firelight dimmed.

----

Mercury walked steadily but swiftly along the well trodden path. His light mane rippled and he shook his head to get rid of the ever settling flies. His bad temper was made even worse by the intense heat of the day. Naruto was equally hot and uncomfortable. He had long forsaken his long-sleeved shirt in favour of going bare-chested, as was the habit of his older brother. He did however don a pair of leather fingerless gloves that he needed to wield Cerberus properly. He now only wore his combat boots and camouflage trousers. It happened when he looking around innocently and hadn't been paying attention his surroundings. Suddenly above him, in the trees, something flashed through. His sharp eye at once identified a group of three, two his age and one adult.

He leaned forward immediately and whispered into a sleep ear, "You're being outdone by humans, Mercury! Scratch that, you're being outdone by human children!" The result was instantaneous, an infuriated snorted as the dark creature bunched his powerful muscles and launched forward at an almost frightening pace. He on slowed as he drew up below the silhouettes above. When they were trotting beneath them Naruto smiled evilly and jerked the reigns slightly. Mercury threw back his head and with a mighty leap he sailed up into the trees. The kids were the only ones startled when an enormous horse was suddenly leaping alongside them, rider grinning happily.

"Hi! You're Konoha nin right?" Naruto called cheerfully, putting on an idiot's mask. His hair ruffled slightly as they slowed slightly, he frowned when the adult (he too had an eye covered and wore a mask) replied.

"Who wants to know?" he said coolly and quietly; almost like Virgil.

"Just a nin travelling for the exam of course!" Naruto responded with a grin. Out of his saddlebag he pulled a headband that he and his brothers had prepared, it was like the ones they wore except with the symbol of crossed swords on it. "I'm from Hidden Sword don't ya know!" he was as cheeky as ever, "We're knew on the scene, like Sound!"

"Where is the rest of your team? Where's your instructor?" said a dark-haired boy with eyes to match, he was weaning blue and white. He looked like an emo, Naruto decided.

"My team? In our Village we're trained mainly to fly solo, what if your team up and dies on you? How do you complete your mission then? My instructor? He's not here yet, he had stuff to do or something." Naruto looked at the shock on the pink-haired girl's face and his supposed instructor's blatant disregard for him.

"So you're here alone?" she asked.

"Yeah that's what I said…well I got Mercury! Right boy?" he spoke to his 'trusty' steed, who only looked up at him with contempt. "Mind if I travel with you? Pleeeease!"

They all stopped and dropped to the forest floor and the adult jounin sized him up with one calculating eye. "Do you have a pass?" he asked finally, immediately Naruto produced the pass Virgil had given him. The man looked at it closely before handing it back, "I am Hatake Kakashi, this is Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, my team."

"I'm Naruto! Nice to meet you!" he declared with a deep bow, Mercury snorted in disgust. How dare someone of such important demon ascendance associate with humans like this! Naruto turned to him and the cold look in his eye answered Mercury's questions, the son of Sparda needed these humans. "You may go Mercury-chan! I will be fine from here!" Mercury bowed respectfully before vanishing, causing the world to jolt slightly as he returned to the demon world. This went unfelt by Sasuke and Sakura, Kakashi narrowed an eye however. The boy in front of him was strong, but something wasn't right about him. Naruto just picked up the packs and his violin case which were left behind, not before securing Cerberus to his hip.

"What's that?" asked Sakura curiously, eyeing the triple blade.

"This? This is my sword, er…swords I guess" Naruto replied, he wasn't going to tell her that they were actually the soul of a demon materialised on this plain of being though…

As they began travelling again Sakura spoke up once more, indicating the violin case as he did so, "what's that?"

"It's an instrument from the west, it is not uncommon among my people, I love it too much to leave it at home." They continued to proceed toward the large gates now coming into view.

They were almost there before Sasuke spoke, breaking his hours of silence, "what happened to your eye?"

Naruto looked at him before, "I'd rather not say, kids have accidents ya know?" he said while scratching the back of his neck, appearing embarrassed. He offered a broad smile before returning his gaze forward. Everyone, including Kakashi, missed his circular pupil in his remaining eye suddenly becoming vertically slitted for a moment before returning to normal.

What did you think? Please read and review!


	3. One Hell of a Party

Disclaimer: sorry my beta's curretnly unavailable so some typos may exist! I appologise in advance but I wanted to get the chapter up asap! I know it's not very good and my chapters are short but I have exams at the mo!

Anywho! Read and review and love me!

DarkRavie: thanks for your comment and I hope this satisfies those high hopes...I hope it does

AngelsSubstance: all will be explained in due time. Naruto's eye is very special! You'll see it soon! MWUHAHAH!

-----

Once in Konoha the team had to make a report on their mission and so they separated. Naruto started to scout the prices of places to stay, once decided he made his way through the large streets looking for an open corner. He stopped however, at the sound of children's laughter as they raced through the streets nearby.

"_Monster! Monster!"_

"_He ain't right! Look at his eye!"_

"_My mummy says I'm not to play with you."_

"_Monster! I hate you!"_

_Then, "you're not a monster, you are a little boy." A crying five-year old looked to his older brothers who stood tall and comforting above him._

"_Yeah, you're our little brother! And we'd never leave you!" Dante continued as he lifted the boy into the safety of his arms and carried him back home to their mansion. It was alright because Dante and Virgil were there, they made everything alright. _

'Children are so cruel' Naruto thought as settled on a corner nearby. He snapped open his battered violin case and pulled from it the worn violin and bow. He cradled it lovingly as he drew the horse-hair bow across tenderly; a sweet note drawing the street to a hush. Then a tune burst forth as his hand worked the bow swiftly and his lips pulled into a grin. The song was as cheery as his nature and soon open staring was accompanied by coins thrown into his open case. Some had never seen a western violin before and it was quite a novelty.

It was long into the evening when he finally began to pack away. He gently closed the violin case and counted the money he'd earned with his hard work. He had enough to stay somewhere for about two weeks; luckily he didn't actually need to do that. He needed to find an abandoned house somewhere in Konoha. He'd also made an excellent deal with the owner of a nearby ramen stand. In return for free meals he would provide evening entertainment, nice and easy.

He shouldered his pack on one shoulder and set off toward the most dilapidated part of Konoha. It clearly was home to the poorest in the area so Naruto would have no trouble fitting in whatsoever. He picked an apartment block and chose a door on the fifth floor (after checking no one lived there). He noticed it only had one room that was moulded into kitchen, living space and bedroom. The bathroom was through a door on the left. He closed the door, set down his pack and began to rummage through its contents. After a few moments of unsuccessful searching he moved from the bag to his pockets and weapons pouch. He grinned as he found his desired item. A piece of chalk rested in his palm innocently.

He brought it up to just below head-height on the door and began to draw. For a few mere moments only the sound of scarping chalk permeated the air over the muted sounds of the city. When finished, he stood back to admire his work. On the draw was a perfectly proportioned circle, it was breached by three interlocking triangles (also perfectly symmetrical). There were symbols in each intersection and one above the drawing as whole. Naruto placed his hand directly in the centre of it; the symbols immediately gave off a sage green glow that lit the dim hallway. Like veins the light spread across the door, pulsing. Then it was gone, like someone had turned off the light with a switch.

Naruto wiped sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. _That took more effort than I predicted_ he thought to himself tiredly. He grasped the golden door handle and pushed it open gently. In front of him was no longer a dilapidated room but instead a small one-room apartment had taken its place. A desk in the far corner next to a bed, a kitchen merged into it on one side. There was also a bathroom to the left, through a dark-wood door.

Yet the most disturbing factor was the window over the bed, it was on the far wall and depicted a city that was not Konoha. Cars roared down beaten streets and hobos cowered round lit dustbins. Overhead there was the dull groan of an aeroplane. Naruto closed the door, strode across the room and dropped his bag on the bed. He threw open the window and took a lungful of thick, polluted air. He smiled fondly, this was home. This was Chicago and he was sad when he and his brothers had moved away. They still leased this apartment though, for use when away from home.

He flopped onto the bed and closed his eyes. It was the test soon, he should rest. He should also call his brothers…but that could wait. Naruto, for the first time since he'd left home, let himself sleep soundly and deeply. Not afraid of anything.

-----

The day dawned bright and horribly early. In its blinding rays a slim figure scaled the side of a tall, domineering building like a spider. Fingers, already bleeding from the strain, scrabbled across the smooth surface and left crimson streaks in their wake. Naruto puffed and forced himself to rest for a moment. _Maybe this wasn't a good idea…yaaaah my fingers really hurt!_ He pushed back his sweat slick hair, dying some of the silver red with blood. At least he was wearing a shirt…that had soaked up a lot of the sweat. Nice.

Naruto squinted upward, _about five, maybe six, feet to that window and I think this is the third floor_ Naruto thought to himself. He gathered his legs under him and with a leap short upwards. He grabbed the window ledge and swung himself through the open window to land silently on the other side. Not bad for wearing steel-capped boots. Not many noticed him and this gave him time to observe the others in the room. Not many powerful people were there…nothing of note any how.

His blue eye then spotted the team he'd journeyed to Konoha with. "Sasuke! Sakura" he cried as he bounded over them happily. "How you guys doing?" he greeted them with grin.

Before either could speak a new voice appeared, "who's this?" it asked with not just a little arrogance. It belonged to a boy that Naruto could only describe as looking and smelling like a dog. He had shaggy brown hair and a puppy stuffed down the front of his grey jumper. Next to him was another 'strong and silent' type and a girl who looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her.

"Naruto's the name, dog-boy" he replied as he straightened his black shirt. He liked the shirt, it had a blue skull on it. "I'm from Hidden Sword don't ya know?" he continued, offering his hand.

"Kiba," said the boy before he could stop himself or realise the insult. "What did you call me?" he growled and was mimicked by the puppy.

Naruto ever-short attention span had however wandered off to a new person approaching them. He had grey hair and really big glasses. Naruto studied him as he conversed with those around him, something about this guy was weird. He just didn't seem right and doing the exam six times? No, something was wrong here.

He remained quiet until the stranger, Kabuto, turned to him and asked, "do you need information also?"

Naruto smiled, "nah thanks. It's not my style to know about my opponents!" He grinned happily.

Sasuke looked at him grimly and turned to Kabuto. "What do you have on him?" he asked, jerking his thumb at Naruto. Naruto raised an eyebrow at this, he wondered if that card justu could read past Virgil's seal.

The nin searched through the pack with a slight frown for a moment. "Ah! Here it is!" he said after a few minutes. "Naruto of the Hidden Sword, thirteen years of age, but no specialities listed. Some A ranks completed, mostly B's and C's however." Kabuto seemed annoyed that his silly little card showed not a great deal about the new village.

Naruto laughed at Sasuke's frustrated expression. "I'm good at taijustsu and kenjustu if that helps at all!" he added laughingly. He suddenly felt a cold stare on his back and his expression became serious, his gaze grew cold. He turned to see a red-haired boy staring at him from across the room. "Who's he?" he asked.

"Gaara of the Desert, from Suna" answered Sasuke.

"Interesting…" murmured Naruto with a slow, manic grin forming on his face. "I can already tell," he commented to no one in particular, "this is gonna be one hell of a party!"

It was at that moment Ibiki slammed open the door and the exam began.

----

The exam was a written one, and Naruto hated written exams. It went rather quickly for him as he proceeded to sleep through the whole thing. He vaguely was awake for the 'tenth question' or something like that. By the time the second examiner came he was in nothing short of a daze. He came to in front of a large gate with a scroll in his hand. It had 'Earth' written on the front. "Goddamn auto-pilot" he grumbled as he went over what he was supposed to do. '_Okay, get Heaven Scroll, kill baddies and get out alive. I think I can do that!'_ he thought happily as he entered the forest.

The Forest of Death was by no means as small as Naruto had hoped, however. He scratched the back of his neck as he looked around himself. He'd run in with no sense of direction like a moron, just like everyone else. Well, no he was here he might as well start the exam…

It wasn't long before he noticed a group of nin up ahead of him. He could sense their chakra and feel the pattern of their movements. At least they weren't too weak.

Naruto leapt deftly and silently through the foliage toward them. He slowed when he'd finally matched their pace and was parallel to the last of the three; he seemed to be lagging behind slightly. In one fluid movement he tensed his legs and threw himself into the nin while he was in mid-jump. Naruto clapped a hand over his mouth so he wouldn't make a sound as he knocked him unconscious. He also proceeded to make noise instead of moving silently, to give the illusion that the nin was still running behind them.

He smiled as he lifted the limp body high over his head and, with a great deal of force, threw the body into the nin's team mates. They fell out of the trees like felled birds, landing with a rather pronounced thud. They also left quite the impression in the ground. Upon closer inspection two were unconscious; the third joined them when Naruto kicked him sharply in the head.

"Weaklings!" Naruto complained as he searched their pockets. He ended up with some money, a silver pocket watch and the Heaven Scroll.

"Finished already? No one fought me or nothing!" Naruto was now quite irritable. It was then he picked up traces of blood with his sensitive nose. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" he wondered as he turned toward the west and wondered who could be shedding that much blood to make the smell so strong. Well, he'd just have to find out wouldn't he?

----

okay, quick poll! Should the Yondaime still be alive? I've toyed with the idea and have two possible plot lines! What do you guys think? Vote Yes or No in your review pretty pweeeeaaase!


	4. Blood and Curses

Hey folks! It's time to update again, sorry it takes me so long but I have to juggle school, two jobs and family stuff. What with my mum being in hospital...life's hectic!

Feel free to comment on what you do and do not like! I like to know! Also tell me about mistakes, my beta is still away growlgrowl . 

_Chapter 4_

The blood was strong…_fresh_. Naruto was suddenly giddy as his demonic instincts came to the forefront. They purred in appreciation, even though they'd been sealed by Virgil for the most part.

Naruto's eye rolled back into his head as breathed the scent in deeply. When it rolled out again the eye was blue, cold and cat-like. He shimmered and was gone; tearing through the trees with an almost insane grin on his face. _Stupid puberty…_he thought to himself. Puberty was hard for half-demons; it was when a devil-trigger or demon form was established properly. It meant that he exhibited more demon instincts than he should…and right now he wanted blood.

He came upon a clearing in the trees; the stench meant that the blood had to be coming from there. He settled in one of the branches of a nearby tree and looked down. The floor was splattered with what looked, and smelt, like the remains of a human. Two more were currently begging for their lives and offering a scroll to their opponents. Naruto watched coldly as sand wrapped around them and their blood spurted out like geyser.

The attackers were the team from Sand he had noticed earlier. As he predicted the one controlling that vicious sand was the red-head, his jade eyes were fixed on the blood and his hands were held before him, commanding the sand. Both he and the sand stank to high heaven of blood. Malevolence poured off him in waves.

Seeing the fight was over, Naruto stood from his crouch and began to clap slowly and loudly. He jumped down agilely and landed completely silently, still clapping. He made his slowly way toward them, shoving his hands in his pockets after a while. He kicked the remains of a Nin's skull out of his way. "Nice. Very nice. My hat goes off to you, stranger," he said with a small smile.

He stepped back, easily evading the sand as it lashed out at him savagely. "Now, now, that's not nice!" Naruto allowed the smile to slip from his features. It was replaced by a grim look and his eye narrowed as it fixed on the red-head who looked at him unafraid.

"Who are you?" demanded a taller boy standing behind the first. He was wearing black clothing and…make up? How strange…

"Me? I'm Naruto of the Hidden Sword, good sir!" As he exclaimed this Naruto took a deep, mocking bow and swept off an imaginary top hat. "Who might you be? You smell of blood, stranger. Also you have pain and loneliness in those hard eyes of yours" he continued, now talking to the red-head.

He saw the other's eyes tighten before, "Gaara of the Desert."

"I look forward to fighting you, Gaara. I hope we'll be friends…if people like us can have friends, that is." Naruto chose that moment to take his leave. He bounded into the trees and looked back only to wave once before again vanishing into the thick forest.

Hanging around the forest seemed like fun and he didn't want to end the exam early, also he was meant explore for possible demon activity. Apart from the red-head he hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary, but he should look just in case. He strolled along the ground for a while, trees got boring after some time after all. He was just passing a river when felt the initial ripples of a devil trigger…that was weird and wrong. There were only three people in the world born with a devil trigger and he was pretty sure neither of his brothers were actually here.

Naruto immediately took off through the undergrowth and rapid speed. This was bad, very bad. If this was an uncontrolled devil trigger, even a weak one, it could have catastrophic affects on normal humans. He was very far away though; '_will I get there in time?' _was the most prominent thought to cross his mind.

Day was just breaking as he reached the source and to his shock it was the team he'd travelled with, Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke appeared to be out for the count and the ripples were definitely coming from him. Sakura had set up a few traps but nothing major or amazing. _'Man…she's a crap ninja'_ Naruto sighed to himself. There was nothing he could do now and he sensed another team nearby. He hid himself and set for a 'wait out'.

The other team take long to show themselves, their symbols were that of sound. At the name 'Orochimaru' Naurto's head shot up and anger stirred in his chest. "Well, what do you know? Snake's stirring trouble again? I thought they put a stop to him ten years ago…" A cruel smile spread across his face, he'd have to tell his brothers later. They'd be so mad at the fact the prat still mingles in demon arts.

Naruto jerked out of his daze when another leaf Nin appeared, he should really pay attention. The boy was graceful and was dressed head to toe in a green leotard. He took a fighting stance against the attackers, it was only then that Naruto noticed Sakura had been beaten bloody. He simply rolled his eye sky-ward, why was she so weak?

He turned his attention to the fight before him. Green was fast but that guy fighting him had something weird on his arm. He watched the other boy lash out and Green go down clutching his head. Naruto raised his eyebrows when he saw blood seeping out of Green's ears. At Sakura's shout he learned that Green's name was Lee…but he liked Green more.

He looked to the left as rustling announced another team and they leaped into action. '_More leaf ninja? What are they? Ants?!'_ He scratched his head, annoyed. He couldn't keep watching long. This team was blatantly out of their league, the other team had too much firepower. He had to give it to the shadow dude…he was smart, but they were doomed. He stood preparing to jump down and interfere, that was when it happened.

Naruto jerked as the feeling of devil power suddenly tripled. "Shit! Not now! Not fucking now!" he growled as he felt Sasuke stirring. Around this many people it would dangerous for even a minute amount of power. He stood quickly and watched as Sasuke stepped out of the tree hollow he'd been sleeping in.

Purple tongues of chakra fizzled round his skin, an odd mix of his natural chakra and demon energy. Naruto gripped his head as it ached when the barrier between planes shuddered violently. He heard the roar of demons from the other side. Sasuke's eyes were red and span with black dots. Naruto could only guess that it was a blood-limit or something like that; he'd read about them. Black marks stood out on the pale teen's skin, the very sign that a non-human trait that violated many laws of nature was trying to establish itself in a foreign body.

Sasuke suddenly vanished before his eyes, delivering a brutal, bone-shattering kick to the boy who blasted wind from his palms. The boy flew sideways and was assaulted be Sasuke's fire technique. Naruto barely blinked and Sasuke was on the boy again. This time he had both of his arms in a lock…and it looked like he intended to break them.

Naruto shot from the tree like a bullet from a gun. He barely touched the ground as he made for Sasuke. All the leaf nin were shocked, they hadn't even noticed he was there. Neither had the attackers apparently. They were shocked as Naruto's booted foot collided with Sasuke's unprotected side, the affect was the Sasuke was catapulted off the struggling nin of the floor and hit the ground hard a few feet away.

"Geez! That's harsh!" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck as he complained, "you know that's not how you make friends!" He shook his finger as if admonishing a child. He stretched, "mind telling me how you got his funky power you're using? Because I'm sure as hell that it ain't natural to you!"

Sasuke chose that moment to attack Naruto who, as he had with Gaara, sidestepped him. '_I think I've had enough of this_' Naruto mused and he reached out an arm. Grabbing the back of Sasuke's collar, he hurled the Uchiha skyward. Flipping onto his hands to do a handstand he waited. Sure enough Sasuke landed on his upturned foot, groaned as the wind was knocked out him painfully. With a tilt of his feet, Naruto kicked Sasuke away from him so he landed in a head a little way away. He rubbed the back of his head as he came to his feet, "geez! Some people are so mean! He should really get that curse seen too…ah well." It was then that Naruto seemed to noticed the sound nin were still present, "get gone" was all he needed to say to make them vanish into the forest.

He looked around at the others who were staring at him apprehensively. "Hey there! I'm Naruto!" he said happily. "Sorry about hitting him so hard but I don't think he was going to stop…"

They were speechless for a moment, the first to speak was the one who looked like a pineapple. "I'm Shikamaru, what are you doing helping us? And where is your team?" he added looking around subtly.

"You're smart, I'll give you that!" Naruto commented cheerfully.

"He doesn't have one…" everyone turned to look at Sakura. "We met him when returning from Wave country…he was travelling alone."

"That's right," Naruto confirmed with a happy smile.

"Don't you even have a sensei?" demanded the fat one on the new team. He was wearing quite an odd scarf Naruto noted.

"Yeah I do! But he's at home, he said he might turn up. But it'll totally suck if he does…" Naruto groaned at the thought of Dante or Virgil turning up.

The pineapple-boy spoke again as he dropped to a crouch, "why's that?"

"Because he's my eldest brother! He's such an ass!" Naruto complained loudly and over-dramatically.

There was silence for a moment as everyone took in this information.

The first to speak was Sasuke, who'd somewhat regained some composure after his little berserk, violent behaviour. "Your sensei is your brother?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah and he doesn't let me forget it! He's what…eleven years older than me? A little less maybe," Naruto scratched his head as he thought about it.

"You said 'eldest brother', how many brothers do you have?" asked pineapple-head.

"Give the guy a cookie, he's got some noodles in that noggin! I have two brothers, both elder and they're twins. They look a lot like me too, or so I'm told. They don't get on well though, kinda like two sides of the same coin I s'pose…"

The sun cast orange rays and it rose further into the lightening sky, washing the ground orange and pink. "Shit! I better get going before some other stupid-ass team mugs me for my scrolls!" Naruto groaned. "Well I'll see you guys later! It was nice chattin' with you anyhow!"

Naruto turned on his booted heel and walked off into the dense forest, as he went his footsteps were but whispers lost to the wind in the clearing.

----

So whatcha think? R&R! Those who do get cookies!


	5. In the Beginning

Sorry I'm late! Stuff just got a bit out of hand! But i should have less stress soon, I haven't had time to finish the next chapter but I'm sure I can do it witin 2 and 1/2 weeks...don't throw things at me! runs off stage

**Chapter 5**

The tower was rather dank in Naruto's opinion, the rain didn't help either. He rung out his sodden shirt as he sauntered inside. There was nothing in the entrance hall, however. Well, nothing except a wall-scroll on the far side.

So what did he do now? He glared around grumpily before, at last, looking at the floor. Ah! There were marks here, dirt had been shifted and moved. Foot marks were the first things he noticed, for about two other teams by estimate. The strangest part was it looked like there'd been a sudden rush of dust, outward from one spot. It looked sort of like a cross…Naruto's eye widened. A summoning scroll or summoning using ninja justu would create that effect! He looked at the scrolls, an odd layer of power encased them.

Naruto opened them and put them in a cross shape on the floor before him. The kanji on them seemed to twitch, somewhat like a squashed spider, before spreading across the flagstones. A warm rush of air and a great deal of smoke hailed the arrival of a man in the tradition green vest worn as part of ninja uniform. He bowed formally from the waist, which Naruto returned politely. "Well done, Naruto-san, on passing the second stage of the exams. Until the exam officially ends you are to remain in an allocated room within the tower or in the tower itself." His voice was calm and cool in a non-personal sort of sense.

"Of course," Naruto returned, smiling, "thank you very much." Naruto was led to a room on the second floor. Before he knew it, he was curled upon the bed sleeping like a baby.

----

The sleep wasn't wholly restful as Naruto was still yawning as he walked with the other Genin to assemble before the Leaf Hokage. Each team lined up in single file and Naruto felt very odd as he was just a line of one. Naruto leant forward slightly as he decided to look around. As he took in his surroundings, (a large arena with two balconies and a platform) he noted that it seemed compulsory for a sensei to be present for each team.

He pondered this for a moment as the other teachers all filed in. What was he going to do? Neither Virgil nor Dante had mentioned anything about making an appearance so how was he going to fit in. Surely, someone was going to before suspicious…

He was wrenched form his thoughts by sound of flapping wings. A haunting, cracked laughter echoed out in the otherwise crisp silence as a bird soared in after the instructors. On closer inspection it was a ragged crow that watched with beady eyes as it circled above the heads of the collective nin. Naruto immediately recognised the decrepit fowl, _so that's how we're playing it is it?_ He thought to himself.

Some nin has kunai in their hands and looked rather threatening. Naruto realised that his brother would not be best pleased if his pet was killed because Naruto failed to stop it. The bird dropped out the sky to perch on Naruto's bare shoulder (his shirt was still wet). Its long talons drew blood that ran in rivets down his tan skin. "'Ello there, young master" it cackled in a broken, disjointed, cockney accent.

"Hello, Simon," he returned tiredly. He rolled his shoulder to try and get the crow to loosen its ever tight grip. He turned then to address the wary glances he was receiving. "Ah! Please forgive my rudeness," he exclaimed, once more wearing the mask of the fool. "This is one of my sensei's summons, if he is present then my sensei is either delayed or unable to attend this stage of the exam. Simon is to take the duties of my teacher in this case. That's right isn't it?" Naruto turned to Simon.

"If I allow somthin' to 'appen to you I migh' as well commit 'airy karey!" The crow's voice was gravely and coarse.

"Can he adequately protect you should the need arise" asked the prim and proper, not to mention old, Hokage.

The crow cast a baleful look at the old man and ruffled its scraggly plumage. "You shouldn' be underestimatin' the young master," Simon chattered, sounding greatly offended. He took off with a flutter of his ragged wings to land on the rail before the Hokage. "I ain' no pushover meself, I can look after the master's pupil just fine. It's the others that should be careful." The last phrase was delivered devoid of accent and feeling. It was both serious and foreboding.

"Simon! I'm sure sensei left instructions for me, so would you kindly tell me and stop harassing others?" Naruto was getting annoyed as the crow jabbered on. The crow merely laughed, however, before it resumed its position on his shoulder.

----

It was a while later when the prelims actually began. '_So dumb, not planning for the possibility of lots of kids passing!' _Naruto noted with exasperation. He just wanted to go back to his flat and sleep, instead he had to fight some kid just to get through. He leaned forward and gripped the balcony railing where all the other contestants had been relocated. Simon hopped up and down beside him; occasionally pecking at his hair.

A large board skimmed through the names of the contestants before selecting two at random to fight. It hung over the large arena and whirred as it came to life. The first name Naruto recognised was Sasuke's. '_That dude does not look good...that's what that kind of power will do to a human I s'pose'_ Naruto contemplated as the Uchiha walked to the centre of the arena to face his opponent. Naruto winced slightly when he noticed the bruises that he'd inflicted, "maybe I was too hard on him" he conceded, feeling slightly guilty.

As Sasuke began to fight Naruto cast his gaze across the room to the solitary form of Gaara. The redhead was cold as ice and a sack of coal had more expression. Simon cocked his head, following Naruto's gaze to the other boy. "What's so interestin' about red boy?" he chattered curiously.

Naruto glanced at the crow before looking elsewhere in a kind of daze. "He's got a blood-lust problem" he answered, before beginning to inspect his nails.

"You spoken with 'im?"

"Yeah. I think he's had is harsh, you know what people can be like."

"I know what _humans_ can be like. Is he the thin' making those nice demonic waves?" This was asked quietly, it would be best if no one knew of their real purpose here after all and that did relate to it.

"Maybe," Naruto mused for a moment. "But I think he's more screwed in the head than anything else. I mean, sure there's demon stuff there but not enough to ripple to other side of the world. However, something else weird happened. I felt enough pressure for an attempted 'trigger', someone's messing with it and that's bad business, Simon."

"That it is, that it is," agreed the rumpled crow solemnly. "The Master told me to watch your back and cover discrepancies while you're away you know? You best not slack in your studies either, he'll know."

Naruto swiped an annoyed hand at the crow, causing Simon to squawk and flutter away indignantly. "Shut up, Simon. Like I need to study!"

Simon knew why Naruto had been so edgy lately; he was at 'that age'. 'That age' for him wasn't like 'that age' for any other. He got grumpy, irritable and downright violent if pushed too far. Or at least that was Simon's experience of this particularly odd family. Sighing, he turned his attention back to the match before them.

Yet Simon could not forget and would not forget the day that Naruto had been found by his brothers, the day of reunion.

---FLASHBACK---

_Rain hammered on the roofs of the town, flooding the gutters and washing away the un-binned trash. Little rivers wound their streaming ways down the alleys and under the feet of pedestrians. An ominous black crow swooped low and silent to a gutter; where it perched, kept dry by the overhanging tiles. It flapped its wings irritably; Simon did really hate the rain._

_There was a clap of thunder and rats leapt out of the sudden light. The sound of wet footsteps draws attention to a small figure moving down the street. Lightning illuminated drenched golden locks hanging over a ruined left eye that wept blood. The face of the child was expressionless, his clothes were ruined. He just walked on under Simon's baleful gaze._

_The boy looked up at him suddenly and Simon found himself pinned by a fierce blue eye. Simon knew those eyes, he'd seen them before. "Y'all right there, junior?" he called down to the child._

_The expression didn't change and the child did not reply, he just gazed at the crow sadly. Tears began to well in the visible right eye._

_"What's wrong, junior?" Simon pressed, feeling quite uncomfortable now._

_"It…hurts," the boy's voice was cracked and speaking cause the wounds on his mouth to open and bleed down his chin._

_"Where ya parents, kiddo?" continued Simon, finding it strange that he was being so conversational with a human child._

_"I dunno…heaven I s'pose."_

_"How'd you get this way then?"_

_"I'm a monster." With that simple statement Simon understood the child's attitude and appearance._

_Simon's gaze softened and he landed on the small shoulder, his talons gently squeezing what looked like the remains of an orange t-shirt. "I'll take you to the master, he'll know what to do" he cawed soothingly. The crow glowed softly before both he and the boy vanished with a muted flash._

_---_

_Dante looked at the pale boy, around six years of age, laying on the hospital bed before him. He was sitting in a blue plastic chair in the war listening to the beeping of the respirator. He'd been gob smacked when Simon had brought the child to the doorstep of the safe house he and Simon had been using. What was he to do with a human child? Simon had said he found the child alone in this condition. Why had no one helped the boy?_

_When he had looked at the boy's pale hair and blue eye, Dante knew he had to be sure. Those cheekbones and that delicate frame were so similar to his own, to Virgil's as well. He had asked the doctor if it would possible to do a blood test. The doctor had shouted at him for being inconsiderate when the boy's health was so poor but had consented all the same. If the boy was who Dante thought he was then the boy wouldn't need this hospital for very long._

_The door to the dim room opened to admit a tall man with black hair and narrow glasses. His long white coat gave him an air of authority and an aura of ice. "Mr Sparda I assume?"_

_Dante carefully cleared his voice of all accent and any vulgarities he might utter to the man, "yes?" he replied simply._

_"You requested a blood match between you and the child? You specified that you believed that he was a relative that you had lost contact with?"_

_"Yes, that's true." Dante wanted the doctor to get on with whatever he was saying._

_"Well, the match is positive. With such close compatibility you must be immediate family, since being a parent would be impossible I would say that the boy is a sibling."_

_Dante was stunned, he'd found him. He'd found him. "Then I'd like to file adoption papers, doctor, since he has no legal guardian." Dante fought for his composure, he must not start shouting his happiness, it wasn't fitting._

_"A background check would be necessary, though you are of age you must also be appropriate..." the doctor paused._

_"I assure you, sir, that my brother and I are more the appropriate. Money is not an issue as we are heirs to a small fortune, his education will be easily supplied and we are responsible people. So, I shall repeat myself. I wish to file fucking adoption papers!"_

_The doctor paled slightly as Dante glared angrily before muttering, "of course sir, I will contact the appropriate people" and scampering off._

_Dante breathed out heavily and slumped for a moment. He opened his eyes and looked at the boy on the bed. Leaning forward he placed his elbows on the bed and threaded one hand into the boy's soft hair. Dante felt a tear running down his cheek. "Oh, look what they've done to you…" he whispered brokenly. He kissed his brother's forehead as he stood, "Simon!" he barked at the crow on the windowsill who had not been there a moment before. "Watch him."_

_Dante strode out of the room and to the reception desk. "Is there any phone that I can use?" he asked politely._

_The receptionist spared him a glance before returning to her books, dismissing him. "To the left of the café in the foyer. It's for family emergency only" she answered in a bored tone._

_"This is a family emergency, thank you."_

_Dante strolled over to the indicated phone and picked up the green receiver. He punched in a familiar number and waited as it rung. After a moment there was the sound of the receiver on the other end being lifted. "Password?" said a quiet, clipped voice on the other end._

_"Devil May Cry, for fucks sake, who else would be calling you at this time, asshole?" Dante grumbled down the phone at his brother._

_"What do you want, I thought you were on a mission?"_

_"I was. Look, something's come up, I need you to come the hospital. Now."_

_"What could possibly so important that I would risk inter-planear (travelling between corporeal, spiritual and demonic planes of existence ) travel?"_

_"…I've found him, V."_

_"Found who?"_

_"Him! Our fucking little brother you twat!"_

_"You can't have…he can't be….are you sure?" Dante could hear the sudden tightness in Virgil's voice that indicated his usually aloof older brother was feeling quite a bit of emotion._

_"Blood tests came back positive, there's no two ways about it. I've filed adoption papers, but you're better at this legal shit than me…"_

_"I'll be there, in twenty minutes, find somewhere secluded."_

_Dante hung up and headed towards the men's toilets. He leant against the sink as he waited, albeit very impatiently. Exactly twenty minutes later there was an odd shredding sound and Dante looked up to see Virgil striding through a neatly folded back rift in space. Virgil had sweat on his brow, the whole process was rather tiring after all. "Well?" he said expectantly to Dante._

_"He's this way," Dante replied, leading Virgil out of the toilets and back up the stairs to the recovery room where their younger brother was sleeping. As they approached the bed Virgil took in his brother condition with fury. He reached out a fine-fingered hand to stroke through the silky blonde and silver hair. _

_At that precise moment a pair of eyes opened, though one was obscured by a white bandage. The blue eye took in the two strangers by his bed and the surrounding area. "Where am I?" he asked hoarsely, grateful when the taller of the two, a man in a crisp white shirt, helped him drink some water from the bedside table._

_"You are in hospital" the same man replied gently._

_The boy blinked in surprise, "no hospitals take me in though…" he said with a frown._

_"We are not in your home city" commented the other stranger; he was wearing more casual clothing._

_"Who are you?" _

_There was a moment of silence as both brothers considered how to best answer the question. "I am Dante and this is Virgil," the younger replied eventually. "We're your brothers…"_

_"I don't have any family…" the boy said, very confused._

_"They stole you from us, took you from our side. We searched and we searched but we could not find you, we feared you were dead," Virgil murmured._

_The boy was speechless; he didn't know what to think or what to say. Dante simply leant forward and pulled the boy into a hug, burying his head against Dante's shoulder. "I promise that we will never leave you, once was quite enough." Dante kissed the top of the boy's head. Wrapping his arms around Dante, Naruto began to cry in Dante shoulder because it was all going to be okay, he would never be alone again. Virgil placed a hand atop his head and stroked gentle fingers through Naruto's hair._

_They broke apart as the doctor coughed politely and offered a pen and some very important documents. _

The flashback took longer than I expected, this chapter was mainly to explain Naruto's past, a mini-filler if you will! His fight with Kiba and Gaara vs. Lee should be in the next chapter. Also! Simon will antagonise Orochimaru because he feels like it! R&R!


	6. The Arena

Hey! Sorry this took longer than I expected! I realised that if I included all I wanted to the chapter would be huge O.O, so to make it easier I've divided it up into smaller chapters! I'm not toally happy with this chapter but I'm a perfectionist and will probably never be happy anyway!

heir of okami: glad you liked Simon! He's the creation of my mate's brother and I hoped he would be as much of a gag character as I'd hoped!

DarkRavie: thanks so much for the continued support! I hope this chapter lives up to expectations!

Roxtrox 7: Thanks for the support and glad you liked the flashback, it was rewritten about 3 times because I had to find away to fill in the background I'd created for Naruto!

gives all a cookie and hug

enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Simon looked to Naruto, things hadn't turned out too bad he supposed. The brothers had repaired their relationship and their family. Naruto was one of kind but hard to manage. The Masters had sent him to a human school but after two weeks it was certain he didn't belong there. None of the kids could do what Naruto could do and this caused a lot of jealousy. After a serious fight it was decided Naruto was to be educated at home. Naruto hadn't really minded and that was that.

Naruto looked us from his doze to see that Sasuke had won and was being led away by his idiotic teacher. "Simon," he growled sleepily, "follow them. See what's so important that they feel they need to leave the competition." Simon squarked, there was the sound of fluttering wings before the crow vanished into thin air.

Just as he began to fall asleep he was nudged sharply in the ribs. "Hey! What gives?" he said in indignation.

"It's your turn, stupid" said one of the Konoha genins. He had long brown hair and completely white eyes, he was already on Naruto's 'hate list'.

Naruto looked to the board and noticed that it was indeed his turn to fight. He stood and stretched his arms happily. He cracked his neck and smiled putting his hands on his hips. He daintily leapt over the balcony and onto the arena floor. "Hello there, dog-boy" he said cheerfully to his opponent. It was the boy from earlier, the one with the dog. The boy snarled at him, angrily.

"I want a clean fight" coughed the referee delicately. "Ready," both boys tensed, "GO!" The referee bounded back to a safe distance.

Naruto didn't move to attack, let dog-boy attack first to gauge his style. This is exactly what he did, the boy lashed out with amazingly sharp claws. This caused Naruto to dance back into a cloud of smoke. Naruto rolled his eyes; _this wouldn't fool a mouse let alone a person_. He lowered his stature and waited, hearing pricked for the slightest sound.

As both dog and master ran into the smoke, both obviously knowing where he was, he leapt out and over it. Higher than anyone could naturally jump without use of chakra. He landed on the other side of the cloud and brought his hands up in a boxing stance that no one in Konoha had really seen. He didn't know what to expect but he was sure he could handle it.

He was however shocked by the fact that when the smoke cleared there were two dog-boys but not puppy, one must have transformed. "GATSUUGA!" one shouted as they became a blur and sharp claws and fast punches headed straight toward him. He narrowed his eyes and determined which to hit, the one in front looked good. As they were less than an inch away he danced sideward and brought a crushing right hook into the face of one of the boys. He immediately brought his hands up in a defensive boxing position. If there's one thing he'd learned from Dante whilst he was teaching him boxing it was to never let your guard down. 'Always assume your opponent is stronger than you,' Dante had said, 'create a defence based on that.'

The boy literally flew back as Naruto brought his hands back up. He sailed across the arena and into the opposite wall with a resounding thud. The concrete cracked around him like a spider web. There was a poof and the boy became a puppy. '_Shit! Wrong one!'_ thought Naruto as the remaining dog-boy howled "AKAMARU!" The boy rounded on him, "you'll pay for hurting him!" he declared, obviously a bit of a hot head.

Naruto was prepared for the sloppy onslaught, however, and the boy was sent flying into the same wall by the same right arm, albeit with slightly more force. Since neither dog-boy nor dog could actually stand the referee declared Naruto the winner of the bought. Naruto simply yawned and returned to the balcony.

Once he was there he encountered the team the boy had been with and their sensei. He nodded in greeting, "he's got no broken bones but he is gonna have a black eye for quite some time" he said apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck. Of course they didn't really speak to him, but the stuttering girl did smile at him shyly.

-----

Simon glided gracefully through underground passages like a shadow, his talons clicked slightly as he landed on a fragmented outcrop of a pillar. He looked down and observed the silver-haired jounin drawing complicated sigils on the grow. The sigils swept in a great circle around the room at the centre of which was the boy, Sasuke.

Simon ruffled his feathers as he felt a wave of power emanate from the teacher like a roaring tide. It reached out over the symbols and pulled them in like a great net to catch the demon power rolling off Sasuke. The net closed and sealed around the strange mark on the boy's neck, Simon made a note of it for further research. The boy collapsed in a heap, his teacher immediately went to him.

"Looks like just about anyone can perform restraining seals these days" hissed a sibilant voice of the shadows.

Now this was interesting. The speaker was none other than Orochimaru, a guy that had been officially cautioned by Devil May Cry on two separate occasions. He was on his last warning; if he was behind the seal on the boy and it proved to be an attempt at Devil Trigger…well things wouldn't look good for the snake. Personally Simon didn't like Orochimaru, he had no style and his thing about snakes was rather weird.

It looked like Kakashi was making a threat toward Orochimaru, interesting. So he wasn't trusted hear, to the extent where he was feared and held in high hostility. If the jounin's body language was anything to go by that is. Orochimaru seemed to vanish after the exchange but Simon knew he was still hiding somewhere below, thus he waited for Kakashi to leave before speaking.

"Well, Well," he cawed jovially, "what do we have here? A snake slithering around where he shouldn't be…" Simon cackled, "no use tryin' ta hide, guv. I can see yous plain as day."

Orochimaru seeped out of the shadows cautiously, "and what manner of creature are you?" He had to hand it to the snake, he was clever. Orochimaru had already ascertained that Simon was alone and not that powerful. Well not here anyway.

"I is not what you should be a-worryin' abou'" the crow chided. "Bu', I'll tell ya, since I seems to be havin' a lot of time on me hands." Simon cleared his throat, making it raps slightly. "I am just the warning messenger, you've been breakin' agreement and oath."

"What oath have I made and broken, crow" Orochimaru said curtly.

"No' that I 'ave proof mind you, jus' the knowin' that yous did it."

"What have I done?" Orochimaru was getting very annoyed at the arrogant bird and was in fact readying a kunai to throw at it.

"You have been officially cautioned and further interference with the boundary and any multiverse will mean direct intervention," Simon stated without a hint of cockney.

Orochimaru eyes widened, the use of vocabulary could only mean someone or a creature well versed in the demon or angel arts. He was willing to bet the latter. He was immediately on guard and prepared a justu and plan of attack in his mind.

Simon laughed loudly, "don' be all 'ostile on me. I am only the messenger, yous are on your last warnin'."

Orochimaru watched as the crow flew away silently with a sinking feeing. The fact that the crow hadn't attack meant that it was under blood-bond and rules, furthermore it seemed the crow did not know what he had been doing. He smirked, he was in the clear for now. A demon wouldn't interfere in the matters of humans.

He had many enemies and this crow was probably the emissary of one of the more dangerous ones. Knowing that few could well control the demon arts, if he had to guess he'd say that Devil May Cry was stirring and looking east once more. He'd have to be very careful. Very careful indeed.

----

Naruto was awoken by Simon landing upon the brim of his cap, thus tipping it down in an annoying fashion. He'd put it on to cover his face while he slept and keep away from prying eyes. The crow stuck he head under the view so that Naruto gazed at him upside down. "It was very interestin' down there, young master! Gave a warning I did, jus' in case of an oath breech" the crow stated by way of greeting.

"You aren't authorised to do that, Simon" Naruto muttered as he swept the bird of his cap and stood, stretching his sore muscles. He pulled his cap off and ran a hand through his messy hair, tugging at his eye-patch slightly in the process. He glanced around and noticed a number of beaten up contestants, it looked like the prelims were almost over.

Naruto turned his attention back to the arena; it was empty so he watched the score board. _This is sooo boring…I wish I had my playstation_ he grumbled to himself. Out of the corner his eye he saw the boy in black from the Sand team approaching the genins on his balcony. His eyes flicked down at the sudden surge of demonic energy. It appeared that Red was up to fight. This would be interesting.

Naruto blanched when he saw the boy's opponent. '_Is that green spandex?'_ he thought in mild horror. The boy's proclamations of love and the 'springtime of youth' made Naruto almost die because of the sheer cheesiness. The guy's teacher was even worse! _Even soaps aren't this bad!_

Naruto's attention was caught by the approach of the Sand nin he now named Cat-boy. He came to a stop just to the left of Naruto, who was leaning on a wall next to some of the Konoha genins. "He'll never win," Cat-boy commented arrogantly.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and said "oh?" before any of the Konoha genins could react.

"No one's ever beaten Gaara," the boy continued.

"Yeah, whatever. I think Red just needs the right opponent to knock him down," Naruto said stubbornly.

The boy snorted, "you'll see."

* * *

So, what did you think? I'm putting Gaara's fight and Naruto's response in the next chapter otherwise this one would overrun tones. I know that makes this rather short and I am really sorry! I'm also going away for about four weeks soon so there will be no updates for that time, damn my ancient laptop, but you will get two chapters when I return! I promise! Please R&R! 


	7. Feeling Alive

**YO!** I didn't expect to get the other half of teh chapter done so quickly. I wanted to get it out to you guys or anyone who may read because I felt I left it ahnging when I didn't finish what I said I would. This is the other half to my previous chapter (it is also exactly the same word count o.O). It was written to 'Hunting for Witches' by Bloc Party, you should all listen to it! nodds solemnly

Thanks for reviewing!

Enjoy!

**Chapter 7**

Gaara was out for blood, it was blatant to those with even an iota of sense or any ideals of self-preservation. Those jade eyes were feverish, bright with it. In a whirl of sand and wind he was on the arena floor, expectant and eager. The malicious aura had increased and rolled off him waves so strong that Naruto was sure he could see them.

The boy in green, who Naruto learned was called Lee, leapt over the balcony rail and into the arena. He got himself into what Naruto assumed was the starting position for some form of martial arts. One hand was held out in front of him and the other held behind his back, it looked sort of like a welcome gesture. Naruto realised that both arms were heavily bandaged, kind of weird in his opinion.

Coughing to get the attention of all the spectators, the referee once again moved to the centre of the arena between the two fighters. "The eighth match will now begin," he rasped dryly, "same rules, make it clean. Begin!"

Instantly Lee leapt forward in a blur of green speed and fists. His heel shot out high, striking at Red's temple, which he made not move to protect. Gaara snorted quietly as sand flew out of his gourd and stopped the strike before it even touched him. Lee was stunned at this but nevertheless he kept pounding away. The resilient shield only repelled him with no visible sign of damage. Lee was forced to relent and back off. He pulled a kunai from a pouch on his leg; it spun round his fingers as he watched Gaara nervously.

He darted forward once more; slashing and slicing with unparalleled ferocity. The sand was not so easily defeated. It defiantly knitted itself back together faster than Lee could tear it apart. The sand suddenly bonded together tightly and lashed out at lee. The limb of sand caught him full in the stomach and sent him sailing into the opposite arena wall.

Gaara chose that moment to go on the offensive. He raised a pale hand and sand shot forward at his bidding. It snaked across the ground with frightening speed. Lee barely had time to dive out the way as it struck at him once again. Lee landed heavily on his knees and winced. It was only brief respite as the sand came at him again.

What bothered Naruto was the look of boredom on Gaara's face; he was playing with his opponent. Unlike Naruto, Gaara was out for a kill, not just some blood.

Retreating to a safe distance, Lee was obviously running out of options. "He'll never win." Naruto glanced at Cat-boy as he spoke. "Gaara's sand shield moves irrespective of Gaara's will. It's an ultimate defence; no one's ever defeated it."

Whilst most of the Konoha nin looked either impressed or concerned, Naruto too a different approach. He fingered his chin thoughtfully, "maybe they didn't attack in the right way," he said finally.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"Even the strongest enemy's strength can become their weakness."

"What?"

"Are you stupid? Figure it out by yourself!" he snapped, annoyed. It wasn't hard and why were they asking him anyway?

They all turned their attention back to Lee, who was making an over-dramatised speech and removing what appeared to be orange legwarmers. _'Ah, they're weighted. Clever.'_ Naruto smiled as they threw up a large cloud of dust while impacting with the ground.

If Lee was fast before he was now supersonic. Gaara's shield was also fast but it now appeared sloth like in comparison to Lee. It was quickly overwhelmed and torn down as Lee laid blow after blow on Gaara's unprotected body.

Yet, when every blow landed Naruto could only hear the sound of crackling, not the solid sound of damaged flesh. It was sort of like the sound of crumpling paper. Naruto narrowed his eyes before smiling widely. "Clever, what you gonna do know, green boy?" The other nin looked at him curiously until they noticed it too. Gaara's skin was falling off in flakes, like shards of shattered glass, showing white and unblemished skin.

"What on earth-" stuttered the guy in green, Lee's clone.

"Sand amour, Gaara's ultimate defence," commented Kankuro. "Get past the shield and hit the amour, like I said. Gaara's never been defeated."

Naruto smiled with glee, a grin splitting his face. Sakura saw this, "you think this is funny?" she demanded.

"I think it amusing, Pinky, not 'funny'. There's a difference. I find all fights amusing, especially my own!" He still wore that maniacal grin and had a devil-may-care wink in his eye.

"That's just cruel!" she spluttered.

"Cruelty is a matter of perspective, luv" cackled Simon as he hopped up and down on the rail. "Young Master's a sucker for a good punch up! Used to get in a ton o' trouble 'e did!"

"Why?" Sakura was now verging on furious.

"It's the pain." Everyone turned to look at Kakashi, somewhat shocked.

"Let's you know you're alive!" Naruto announced with a chuckle, they turned the shocked look on him.

Their attention was drawn back to the arena by Lee, who was fast running out of options. He was being strategic and backing away as far as he could. Speed was failing him currently, Gaara seemed invincible.

Gaara meanwhile was having problems of his own. He suddenly clutched his head and howled, as if in a large amount of pain. He dug his hands into his blood red hair and tugged harshly. He lashed out with a roar, the sand reacting and beating Lee bloody.

Lee darted back and began to unwrap his bandages, leaving them I trailing ropes. '_So he's not an emo…'_ Naruto mused. Lee crossed his arms and began to breathe deeply. Naruto almost had a heart attack when his power sky rocketed, shooting up to more than ten times what it had been. Green chakra flooded the floor, chunks of rock broke away and even Gaara began to back off. Naruto's grin vanished and a calculating glare appeared.

Lee burst into a flurry of movement. Gaara soared into the air as lee struck him with a force he hadn't previously possessed. Gaara's armour was no match, it was subsequently torn down and laid to ruin. Lee wrapped the bandages around Gaara so he could not move and sent him hurtling downward. Gaara hit the ground with a mighty crack and went still.

Lee landed a little way away and fell to his knees, he seemed unable to get up. Naruto recognised the scent of pain on the air. "Stupid boy," he muttered, causing the others to look at him.

Sakura was of course once again on the offensive, "what are you laughing at now!"

"I'm not laughing, green boy is in trouble. Red's not done yet and he's crippled himself," he murmured, quiet as the grave. The jounin who heard him looked in shock, especially the head of Lee's team. Who could survive that much force?

But true to Naruto's prediction the sand began to rise up and form a giant hand. Lee tried to scramble away as Gaara, still lying crumpled on the ground, lifted his hand. "Sabaku Kyu!" he whispered and the sand shot out. It wrapped around Lee's arm and leg. Blood spurted as it crushed them. The referee called out, but Gaara wasn't finished. With an insane grin he sent more sand forward.

Lee's instructor darted forward ready to stop but was surprised when it didn't even touch him. Before him was the boy from Hidden Sword, hand held out in front of him. An ice wall was moulded around the sand and holding it back.

As Naruto breathed out slowly his breathe misted in the air, ice spread out like a spider-web from his feet. "Thanks, Cerby" he whispered. The swords at his belt jostled, clinking quietly. Naruto could sear he heard a growl in his mind. The sand strained but ice held it firm, unmoveable.

Gaara slowly got to his feet and almost immediately Lee's teacher jumped on him, shouting unfairness. "Your student is already unconscious and could have died, I was not sure if you would intervene! Personally I would not see one who had obviously worked so hard die so soon!" Naruto finally barked, annoyed. The instructor was taken a back.

Naruto stomped back to the balcony but heard a muttered 'why?' Noticing it was Gaara he turned and said "not all things should be killed, stranger" and left it at that. Almost as an after thought he waved his hand at the ice; it shattered and melted away instantly. His hands were shaking slightly as he gripped the rails later, summoning ice took a lot out of him.

The last match passed and they were informed they had a month to train. Naruto's opponent was to be one Neji Hyuuga. Naruto recognised him as the guy that had beat the shit out of a member of his family, but he understood how complicated family politics could be. He held out his hand to the guy, "Naruto of Hidden Sword, hope we have a good fight!" he said jovially.

The Hyuuga snorted, "it is your fate to lose to me." With that he vanished. Naruto felt his anger rising, _'I am going to wipe that guy's face across the fucking FLOOR!'_ Naruto thought savagely, apparently he was below this guy. He only usually tolerated that kind of bigoted attitude from Virgil and that was okay: V was family. But this was going too far!

Growling he set off for his apartment to cool off, he needed to be calm for his meeting with Gaara later. They were going to have one, whether the red head wanted one or not.

------

The night was crisp when he once again ventured out, stars and moon both hung clear in the sky. Naruto breathed in deeply, inhaling the forest scents around him mixed with the smell of deep inner city. He did rather like it.

He scaled the side of a nearby building and, using superhuman speed, bounded toward the ever present sense of malevolence that was Gaara. It did not take long to find him, he was brooding and staring at the moon. "It makes her hungry" he stated as Naruto approached without even looking at him.

"Blood is nice in the moonlight" Naruto agreed.

This caused Gaara to look at him and contemplate him carefully. Naruto neither quacked with fear nor swaggered with arrogance. He wasn't threatening Gaara either, he was simply there.

"We aren't so different. I look into those eyes and I see myself, my loneliness and pain," Naruto continued. "Why do you think that is stranger?" Naruto wasn't expecting a reply, he didn't receive one either.

Gaara waited a good while before saying, "why did you saved him?"

"Pardon?"

"My opponent."

"Oh, him," Naruto sighed and leaned back against a wall, hands behind his head. "He wasn't a good opponent, but in the future he could have been. He could make you feel that rush and that pain. He could be truly good. Then he would be worth killing, worth fighting. Why nip something that good in the bud?"

Gaara contemplated this in silence.

"Also, I hate to break it to you, but you can't just go killing everyone you meet or dislike. The world isn't like that."

"Your ice…"

"Huh?"

"Where was that ice from?"

"A very grumpy source. You ain't the only one with weird talent, stranger. Mine take a lot of me though…" Naruto yawned widely, "I'm off for the night. See you in a month, hope we get to fight and what not. Don't forget, no random killing!" Naruto sped off into the night happy that he'd implanted at least some ideas of good for now.

He didn't hear Gaara's whisper. "But…how will I know if I am alive?"

* * *

Guess its obvious that I dislike Sakura but huh?...For those who haven't guessed who 'Cerby' is, it is Cerberus! Naruto weapon that will take heavy offensive at such a nickname! I have also come to a decision, like normal Naruto this will come in two arcs, this time and one set in two years! This one has been fully plotted and should be pretty regular after the summer!

In the next chapter I plan to have Naruto's training month! What will he get up to? Will Jiraiya be in there? YOU BET!


	8. Of Training and Perverts

Yes! I am back! Thanks for all being so patient! As promised I have two updates, the second is going through final editing but I wanted to get this one out ASAP! The second will be out tomorrow...maybe closer! Anywho! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Naruto squinted blearily and grumbled as the sun woke him the following morning. He despised getting up early but it was a necessary evil if he was going to train for his up and coming match against 'Mr Barstard'. Naruto had decided that as Neji was an unpleasant individual he deserved an unpleasant name, that was until he became a pleasant individual of course.

He sat up and stretched tiredly on his poor excuse for a bed. He rolled back the blue duvet, getting his feet with a barely smothered yawn. As he roamed around the room finding clothes for the day and wash stuff for the shower he planned out his day. Some morning exercise was good, a run perhaps? Then he would run through his katas in his kenjutsu and finish with some exercises from both Dante's intriguing street fighting and Virgil's strictly disciplined martial arts.

Naruto threw on something shorts and pocketed a couple of knives, just in case, and set off. He jogged casually out of the dilapidated district he was currently in to the more busy part of the town; where he picked up pace. He looked around him at the seemingly happy townsfolk as he ran; how deceiving appearances could be.

He reached the outskirts of Konoha and began to run in earnest. He barely heard his footfalls as he tore through the forest; he barely felt the ground in fact. He enjoyed the breeze on his face and the smell of the wilds. He supposed it was good to be away from the city for a while.

He skidded to a halt, heavily sweating, and took a deep calming breath. He'd lapped Konoha a few times so his stamina was proving to be quite high, even in this heat. He stretched his muscles gently to warm down, to much exercise can be bad for a person after all. He rubbed behind his ears to release some tension and frowned with he felt some unusual bumps there, like little growths. He dismissed it as a 'weird thing'. Lots of 'weird things' happened in his family so this could be nothing out of the ordinary.

He made his way to one of the training fields open to guests. It was a wide field, larger than a football pitch, kitted out with all manner of targets and straw dummies and posts. That sort of thing was all well and good but an enemy was hardly going to stand still with a target on them and wait patiently as you took aim. This sort of training was good for beginners though…

It took quite some time for Naruto to clear his head of all thoughts and worries in order for him to properly meditate as he slid through his exercises. It was quite relieving to have all the worries about his disguise, about who he was, to be swept away by a wave of calm. He breathed in and raised his arms to the first position.

His both flowed through the movements, almost like it was dancing to an unseen rhythm. With each calming breathe he shifted to a knew position. Soon the shifts got faster, a gentle stream became a swift waterfall. Swift but controlled. His hands darted out before him at an invisible foe and his arms blocked their invisible hits. His legs aimed high and can down in a cutting motion akin to a knife. Yet for all the obvious brutal intent, Naruto's dance was beautiful.

After moving through another five sets of katas he stopped and, again warmed down. It was always quite a shift to go from Virgil's rigid style to Dante's (which seemingly had no rules). Yet, Naruto had always managed the swift change, it gave him a nasty surprise to exercise on enemies. Just when they think they have him figure out he changes style and confuses them. He was a jack of all trades, a master of none.

He began a series of stretches, ones usually used by those limbering up for some kind of sport that required a lot of flexibility, like gymnastics. He stood touching his toes for a while before lying on his back and bending to form the 'crab'. Flipping back to his feet he cracked his neck and got ready to begin. But before he could do so one important ingredient must be added. Out of his back pocket he produced a rather battered mp3 player, which he swiftly turned on and fitted the earphones (old styli) on his head. He got into position as a pounding techno beat vibrated through his head and ebbed down his arms until he almost swayed with the driving rhythm.

He darted forward with a series of kicks aimed at the most painful places on the body: the knee, the groin, below the ribs and the throat. As he completed the highest kick he dropped his upper body, in essentiality he allowed himself to fall headfirst. He caught himself on his hands, his hair just brushing the dust. Using his powerful forearms and a clever use of momentum he swung his lower body down and round. It was a sweep aimed at the knees and deadly fast.

Dante's street fighting was tiring, to the point and an odd adaptation of break dancing in some ways. Naruto continued to flow through it, moving in a different type of dance but not any less dangerous. It seemed to have many openings but none at the same time. It was rudimentary but powerful because of the brute force needed to make it truly effective against an opponent. Naruto casually back flipped to a ten feet distance. He smiled as he remembered the long, gruelling hours his brothers had forced him to endure so he could even master the basics. Muscles and flexibility weren't always natural to a user of this form of fighting. He didn't have anything he hadn't paid for with hard work, blood and little bit of talent.

He finally finished and he was dripped with sweat. He looked at himself in mild disgust and mused that he would soon have to change. He plodded back to his apartment for a well deserved shower.

Once he'd had his shower he decided it was time for his sword practice. If he'd done it earlier he would have been too tired to finish and what was the point of that? He'd refreshed with a shower and a thrown-together-in-five-seconds sandwich; he was ready to train once more.

Carefully Naruto cleared everything away from the large room at the centre of his apartment. The sofa was against the wall and even the rug had been removed. He pulled on his fingerless leather gloves so that he could scoop up Cerberus without unnecessary cuts. The reason he chose to practice inside was that he didn't want any unwelcome watchers; he wanted at least one surprise.

He lifted the tri-blade high above his head and gave a sweeping motion of the arm along with a twist of the wrist to start the deadly whirl of the blades. They blurred around him and glinted as he lashed out in the first movement of the first set.

------

Much of Naruto's month proceeded in the same month, ruthless training morning to night. Yet one sunny day he decided enough was enough, he wanted to walk around and enjoy Konoha not covered in a thick sheen of sweat. So with a happy smile he set off to explore the town. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a white tank top that was only slightly grubby, he wanted to look presentable after all.

Much later as he was passing the bathhouse and even thinking about going in, a strange thing occurred. There was a lot of screaming and shrieking, sort of like an angered cat. Out of the door shot a man with long white hair, he was quite old, being chased by a horde of…semi naked women wrapped in towels. The women retreated into the shadows as if burnt when they realised the whole street could see them.

Naruto chuckled wryly and made his way down the street the old man had vanished down. He sauntered down the alley before stopping before a series of large vases complete with lids. He looked at them each individually before striding to one. He pulled off the lid and said to the man inside, "I must say that was quite a performance, I'd work on your hiding though…"

The old man went red slightly and leapt out the vase. "Do you not know who I am? I am the Toad Sennin Jiriya! Writer of Icha Icha Paradise! A TRUE GENIUS!"

"That's very nice grampa but has anyone told you toads aren't the best thing to idolise? Women are repulsed by them," Naruto snorted.

"You brat! I'll have you know you're talking to a very powerful ninja! A Sennin!"

"If I knew that was I might, just might, care."

"It a title higher than Anbu! Equal or higher than Hokage!" The old man or Jiriya was getting really worked up now.

"Really? That's some title. In light of this I have a question for you."

"Yes?" the old man replied, folding his arms and standing tall.

"Isn't the Icha Icha series porn or something?"

Jiriya spluttered for a moment, obviously offended. "Porn?! Art and genius is what it is!"

"Then why were you hiding in the women's section of the bathhouse…pervert."

"I am not a pervert! And I was…researching."

"Yeah to write porn, you pervert!" Naruto found that he liked Jiriya, they were curiously alike. Accept that he wasn't a pervert.

"Look, don't tell anyone! Okay, kid?" Jiriya said after a moment looking around hastily.

A small glint entered Naruto's eye, "what'll you give me if I don't?" If there was anything he'd learned from Dante it was to be an opportunist at all times.

Jiriya looked at him nervously, "what do you want?"

"Water-walking."

"What?"

"I've seen a lot of people walking up trees and on water, I want to know how. In my village that kind of technique is not really used."

"That's all you want?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Sure?"

"Do you want me to make my price higher, pervert?!"

"No."

----

The sun beat down harshly as Jiriya led Naruto to a secluded river that housed a small clearing. Naruto stripped down to his shorts, even taking off his shoes, on Jiriya's instructions. He shivered before turning to his, crossing his arms over his chest. "What now, pervert?"

"Stop calling me a pervert, brat!" Jiriya barked angrily. "Now, you need to concentrate. Picture sending a steady stream of chakra to your feet, enough to make you stick to the tree. Watch, I'll show you," Jiriya walked up to the tree and paused for simply walking up it as easily as if it were layered with Velcro.

Naruto bit his lip uncertainly, his attention span wasn't very good. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, like he did to enter meditation. He reached deep inside himself and pulling his power to pool round his feet. After he was sure he'd got the flow steady, he to walked up the tree. However he only got to thirds of the way up before he lost control and was literally fired off of the tree like a bullet. He did manage to land on his feet.

Jiriya was impressed. He watched the kid walk forward again in a second attempt. Few got that far in their first attempt, the kid was good but obviously not used to focusing on his power. It was no surprise to him that after a while the brat had completely mastered tree-walking forwards, backwards and even sidewards! He decided to move on the water-walking.

"This is very different," he began. "You don't have to be sticky, you have to be buoyant, you need to make yourself float. Wade into the water up to the knees and using the same focus with that in mind, try to float." He folded his arms and tossed his white hair slightly.

Naruto did as he was told, this time steepling his hands together to aid in his focus. As he drew greater power it began to strain against the seal Virgil placed on him along with the seal that held the fearsome Kyuubi. Unknown to him the Kyuubi's seal appeared, pitch black, on his stomach. It glared fiercely as his eyebrows creased in a frown of concentration.

Jiriya was shocked. He unfolded his arms and leant forward. Their was mistaking the seal, he seen it. Hell, he helped plan it! What was this do doing wearing it? It could only mean that this boy was the Konoha jinchuuriki, but he was lost long ago…he just vanished.

Then something extraordinary happened. The seal seemed to be spreading, inky lines spiralling all over the boy's form. They showed amazing sigils and odd geometric shapes, both circles and triangles. These lines weaved over his entire body, Jiriya could even see them wrapping around his ankles and outlining his calves. The odd thing was that the array wasn't fixed; it pulsated and shifted over Naruto's skin. A great deal of the design seemed to be focusing on the boy's face, circles and sigils pooling particularly around his ears, disappearing into his silvery hair.

Jiriya water as Naruto slowly began to rise out of the water in a brooding manner. That seal was one of restraint. It looked like it had some relation to the dragon seals of his knowledge, but more ancient and powerful. It was stopping the boy from releasing all his power, but why? An extra precaution against the Kyuubi?

As he considering this Naruto had floated to the surface. He opened his eyes, his attention was instantly caught by the seal flowing over his skin. He examined his arms and then his chest. _Virgil's really gone full out, this isn't only a blood binding…its mixed with something else…_Virgil really didn't want him to be found. He looked up at Jiriya, who was examining the seal also. "You aren't shocked by this seal?" the old man asked him.

"No, I knew it was there. I consented to have it placed on me after all," Naruto answered casually. He carefully made his way back to the bank across the surface of the water.

"Is it to the stop the Kyuubi?" Jiriya knew he was taking a risk here, what if the boy didn't know? He could really hurt him, but he had to know.

"That old thing? No, the seal already in place is strong enough for that," Naruto suddenly stopped. "How did you know about that?" he asked, his eye narrowing.

"I helped design the seal on your stomach, I knew the man who placed it." Jiriya could still remember the Fourth returning with a babe in his arms, he'd said it was his. Jiriya, wanting to believe the best of his student, had believed him. Yet the boy's appearance now showed the Fourth had obviously been lying. So who was this boy?

"You knew the bastard eh? My brothers wished they'd known him so they could exact their revenge from his flesh for taking me…alas. Anyway, this hella big seal, you wanted to know about it?"

"Yes," Jiriya was relieved to get back to the topic.

"My family has certain traits, almost like the Sharingan or Byakugan, stuff like that. Unfortunately it gives an interesting appearance that outsiders don't tend to like. Most of the changes happen around puberty. Because I'm away from where I can be protected the seal was placed to conceal them. The abilities manifested can also be more dangerous than the ones exhibited earlier in life."

"What do mean by that?"

Naruto began to dress saying, "when I was young I couldn't play with other kids, I was stronger you know? I could break bricks by the time I was eight…only my brothers could survive my rough type of play. We also tend to get…violent around puberty. By sealing the abilities and stunting them temporarily I can suppress the violent nature until it passes fully." Naruto stretched like a cat, "I shouldn't have told you all of that but I can trust you to keep your mouth shut right, pervert? Being a 'monster' isn't a memory I cherish…"

Jiriya nodded solemnly. "When is your match, brat?" he said in a more jovial tone.

"First match in the exams, end of the month. Why?"

"I might just watch."

"Why would I wanna be watched by a pervert?!"

"Don't call me that! I am the GREAT Toad Sennin!"

"Great PERVERT more like!"

This continued long into the evening before Naruto returned home, happy to have made a friend and perhaps a further contact in the region once he left.

-------

Naruto woke up groggily on the morning of the competition. He splashed his face with cold water; he even went so far as plunging his entire head in, to wake up. He showered and cleaned himself immaculately before choosing his clothes. He picked a pair of orange cargo shorts and a loose fitting black tank top. They were easy to move around in so they wouldn't rub against his skin. Lastly he donned his fingerless black gloves, like those cyclists wear, so he could wield Cerberus without tearing his hands to pieces. He hooked said sword on his belt.

The street was full of excited people, all waiting for the exams to start. It was obviously an important event for children here, rites of passage and all that. He walked toward the stadium and was receiving a great deal of looks concerning his boots, they were black army boots. Also, unknown to everyone else, they were steel capped to give a heftier kick. Naruto was through with being nice to Neji Hyuuga, he'd mocked him after all.

The was an antechamber to the arena where all the competitors were gathering with their various teachers. As Naruto looked round he noticed everyone was there with exception of Sasuke. _Probably brooding to himself somewhere, that or combing his hair._ Naruto snickered at the thought.

Simon wafted through the door after him and settled on his shoulder to preen his feathers. "Where have you been?" Naruto asked softly, Simon had been missing for the past month after all.

"Master called me away on business, you know 'ow it goes," the crow replied. "Miss me did ya?"

Naruto snorted in contempt, "like a hole in the head." Both knew this was meant in affection, not as an insult.

"I also 'ad to bring your supervisor like, didn't I?" Simon continued.

Naruto looked up at this, "supervisor?" he questioned with a curious lift of the eyebrow.

Simon coughed his coraking little laugh, "rules are a teacher mus' be present or summit. Masters couldn' come o' course so they promised ta mosey on down ASAP."

"Fair enough," Naruto now had a mounting feeling of trepidation, like black cloud was rolling behind him.

Simon twitched his plumage and coughed slightly. "How did the training go?"

"Alright, standard evasion stuff really. Made some friends"

"I was bein' asked ta remin' yous ta keep up study on your languages or the Master won' be happy," Naruto winced at this.

"I'll be watchin' from the balcony wit' the others, I am your guardian after all. Remember," he leaned close to whisper in his ear. "Your playmates aren't devils or demons, try not to kill them if you don't have to. Also, a report is expected later on." The cockney accent had vanished.

"I know that!"

"You know I 'ad to warn you, boss' orders."

"Yeah thanks, Simon" he said smiling once again.

"You forget who taught you strategy; I'm assessing you as well. Also boss' orders," she grinned as she said this.

"That's not fair! Two examinations, you suck, Simon!"

"What you gonna do about it, mini?" she laughed. "I'll see you after the competition." Simon cackled and flew off out of the antechamber door.

There was a moment of silence, in which Naruto stared at the door. "Is everyone in your village as mean as that?" came a question from his right. It was Cat-boy.

The tournament start was announced and they filed onto the arena floor. As the scent of previous blood and battle assaulted his nose, Naruto smiled. _It's party time._

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So...like it? Hate it? Pleeeease review! hugs all


	9. Losing Control

Hey guys, it took longer than I thought to edit. in the end I decided to add a mushy flashback. (I was listening to how to save a life by the Fray...)

Hope yous guys like it and thanks for the reviews!

**Chapter 9**

There was silence as the rules were read out and speeches were made. Naruto's entire focus was on assessing his opponent. He looked t everything: mood, possible fatigue, posture, emotion and expression. Virgil had taught him that fights weren't only solved with fists, the brain was in the fight just as much. When everyone else filed away, he raised his eyes to Neji's pale ones.

"My words still hold," he said. "I hope our fight is good one. I will win."

"Your fates say otherwise" Neji snorted derisively.

"Oh do they? What do they say about you? Servant of all, master of none?" He watched his mark hit home. "Never mind this. I came here to fight, not to have mother's meeting."

"So be it," Neji replied as he moved his body into the traditional beginning stance of the Gentle Fist style. Naruto responded by falling into a defensive stance of his style. Moments passed as neither moved, both gazing unblinking at each other. Naruto smiled and flashed forward, his left fist darting out at Neji's face while his right aimed for the solar plexus. Neji's open palms met his hands and pushed them aside easily. As Naruto retreated he managed to get in a strike on his right wrist. Naruto clutched it was it stung.

Naruto opened with Virgil's katas for one reason, as with Kiba he sought to gauge Neji's fighting techniques, his style and flair. From what he had seen the brunet seemed to favour formalised close combat, this didn't help Naruto because he also favoured close combat. However, Neji fought in a very regimented style. It had precise movements. Naruto deduced that most styles in Konoha were formal or followed specific teachings, for example Kiba wasn't exactly original. Naruto specialised street style might throw Neji off, it was unpredictable and vicious. It was also dirty fighting, he would bet his life that Neji had never seen anyone fight dirty.

He jumped away from Neji for the fourth time after a series of kicks and said, "your style is very neat isn't it?" When Neji didn't answer he continued: "it has precise rules, movements if you like. Bet you've never met someone who doesn't use the same." Neji threw him a curious glance. "It's time for me to fight seriously," Naruto grinned and clicked his knuckles.

"By all means try," murmured Neji.

Naruto's feet began to fidget, he stepped quickly from one to the other in little jumps. He brought up his hands in a pose similar to boxing as he bobbed up and down. This time he waited for Neji to come to him. As his opponent lunged at him with two fingers Naruto's hand grabbed Neji's wrist. Before the Hyuuga could react Naruto used the momentum of the thrust as well as a hearty pull to throw the other in front of him. He also held a boot out, Neji's foot caught it. In a split second the boy had gone from upright to sailing toward the ground fast. A foot in the centre of his back made sure he hit it.

The silver-blonde boy retreated once more, his blue eye laughing. Neji clearly hadn't expected such an underhanded move. His smile widened as the other got up, spitting blood on the way.

The problem was that Neji had now become cautious of Naruto, the sudden style shift had surprised him and he no longer knew what to expect. Naruto danced forward once more but Neji moved out of the way. Naruto frowned, he'd have to get faster to catch him. Naruto smiled grimly, if Neji was going to play hard to get then he would play hard to avoid.

The one-eyed teen leaned back into the shape of the crab, his spine flexing gracefully. He then pulled his feet up and held them, slightly bent, in perfect balance. He watched confusion cross Neji clam visage as to why his enemy was walking on his hands and not his feet.

Naruto struck hard and without warning. Faster than anyone could have believed, he swung his lower body in an arc and, using the momentum to gain speed, his booted feet lashed out at Neji. Neji managed to push them aside but was unprepared for the blows to keep coming. Naruto knew he could go for a while without getting dizzy and so launched attack after attack. His final move was to manoeuvre directly in front of Neji and use the power of his arms to propel himself into the air. His feet pushed Neji's arms up as Naruto shot above him. He wrapped his arms around Neji's neck as he passed as arched his legs so he would land behind Neji. Neji was yanked harshly upward and back, hitting the arena floor with a thud.

As Neji slid fluidly to his feet he realised that his opponent was skilled, not only that, he seemed invulnerable. He was fast and he was clever. Neji activated his bloodline limit and slid into a low stance. "Sixty-four hands of Hakke" he announced before shooting forward faster than Naruto had given him credit for.

Naruto didn't count how many blows struck him. He only knew that they hurt and that he couldn't avoid them. He knew he coughed blood as his body was fiercely battered. When the pain ceased Naruto tried to reach within himself and draw on his power to heal. He couldn't, however. _Bastard!_

"Your chakra is sealed, my eyes let me see your every Tenkestu. No matter were you may hide, I will find you," Neji told him, very smugly.

Naruto was about to retort when he felt an odd sensation creep up his left arm. Goosebumps rose and Naruto glanced down. He could see it, Virgil's seal was unwinding from round his arm! He felt his demonic power crackle down in as the seal recoiled like an elastic band. The remains coiled round his chest. If Neji struck him much more the seal would shatter and all Naruto's pent up rage would be unleashed. He'd go berserk and, in the worst situation, kill Neji and probably the referee. That wasn't the worst of it, however. He felt the bones in his hand shift. As he watched in horror the end joints of his fingers and thumb formed into a black claw. They looked sharp but, luckily, disappeared after a moment. Naruto could not risk a transformation here. He just couldn't.

Naruto reached to his waist and unhooked Cerberus. Using the freed power his fed it to the tri-blade. His breath misted before him. "You are a good opponent, White Eyes" he told Neji. "Even if you are a little arrogant. I think you deserve to see me fight at my strongest. I hope you survive so you know fate can be changed."

"Fate is as irreversible as the seal on my head!" Ah, this was a sore point for the young nin. "The fate of my father and myself was sealed by his birth, as he was the second son of twins. To keep control of us they placed seals on us! I can't marry who I choose or do what I choose, without the fact that they can kill me at any time. We even form their cannon fodder! You tell me that I can change the unchangeable? You're a fool, boy of Hidden Sword!"

"We all have our crosses to bear, you think you're the only one with a seal? You think you're the only one who's suffered?" Naruto tore off his eye patch in annoyance bordering on anger, his enhanced temper was beginning to fray. "I lost my eye when I was seven," he snarled as the dull eye gazed at Neji sightlessly. "It was carved out. My attackers laughed as I lay bleeding. They beat a little boy and left him to die, I almost bled to fucking death! Like you I was born to the wrong people and the wrong time." Naruto took a deep breathe to calm himself. "No one is without their 'cross', large or small."

Naruto began to swing Cerberus at high speed, the two blades he wasn't holding whirled and spun in a blur. Naruto lifted his free left hand and formed a seal (just for show), he murmured "rise to me dog of the abyss." The blades swept down and struck the ground at his feet. Ice spread out from around the blade before streaking across the ground toward Neji. Just as it reached him the head of a great dog made of ice rose from the ground and lunged with a ferocious snap of its jaws.

Neji jumped back with great agility mingled with surprise. The sharp teeth of ice grazed his left leg however and Neji felt a strange tingling sensation. He saw, to his horror, that the torn flesh was freezing and hardening, it was going black with frostbite. He knew then that Naruto was more than he appeared. The dog's eye rolled toward him briefly before the whole head, neck and shoulders exploded in a shower of shards. The shards were not designed to injure however.

The long haired brunet barely had time to recover before Naruto was on him. The tri-blade whirled in a blur and Naruto lashed out fluidly, his dance-like street fighting was melded to use the odd sword. The addition of it brought his skill to beyond Neji's, what was more amazing was that the other appeared to have no bloodline limit, Neji was just overwhelmed.

Suddenly the sword fell from Naruto's hand. He grunted in pain and gripped his arm in a white knuckled grip. He gritted his teeth as he felt the bones spasm again. Yet this was overtaken by a lurching pain in is head, like it was splitting open. He gripped his hair and let out a harsh cry. He hunched as tears almost came to his eyes. His hands, one clawed and one not, felt the bumps behind his ears grow. Blood-soaked, ridged horns broke through, they curved back slightly and grew to about three inches in length.

Neji could not believe what his Byakugan was showing him. Red and orange chakra was running through Naruto's body although the chakra pathways had been sealed. It was centred on his head and right arm, pooling and swirling. Neji suddenly got a very apprehensive feeling.

Naruto felt fangs beginning to grow and knew he was in trouble. He wouldn't fully transform but even partially was dangerous. He felt blood running down his neck and matting his hair. He rolled a shoulder as it ran down his back. Hooking Cerberus on his belt he came to a conclusion, _I have horns, teeth and claws…I may as well use them_. This decided he ran toward Neji at blinding speed.

He lashed out with his clawed right hand; red stripes appeared on the arm trying to stop him. He grabbed said arm and tossed Neji like a rag doll. Though he did credit him for landing on his feet. He let out a small roar as he dived at his pale opponent, taking him back to the ground. He pinned him with ferocious strength that left Neji unable to stand. He growled, baring his teeth as he leaned close to Neji face. Pale eyes met ice-blue cat-eyes. Neji knew he was beaten.

"Game, set and match," Neji heard him intone. Naruto was pronounced the winner.

As the medics rushed to the fallen nin a few murmured words made their way to Neji's ears: "The future isn't set in stone. If it was then what fun would life be?"

Neji smiled, he learned much from this boy and this match. He smiled widened as he realised the last thing he'd learned. Naruto was fool-hardy, a nutcase, audacious and had no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. But he was the best teacher Neji had ever had. Neji lay back and let oblivion tack him.

-----

Naruto ran to the secluded corridor leading to the fighter's antechamber. Once there he pulled a knife from his belt and rolled up the sleeve of his shirt. Using the blade he cut his skin into the same designs of Virgil's seal. He swore at the pain but continued, not missing a detail or a line. As he finished he felt the claws recede, his anger drop and the fangs vanish. The horns, however, remained. He rubbed them and swore.

It wasn't as neat as it could be; he didn't have the salt or part of a yew tree…anything necessary really. His blood was all he could commit to the ritual. It was incomplete and crude but it would hold for now. This would be over soon. He let that thought comfort him. Soon his brothers would help him as they had all those years before.

--Flashback---

_A sobbing Naruto ran down a darkening street. He darted through the silver gates and flung open the large door with inhuman strength. The loud bang it caused alerted the two brothers to his return. So did the thumps of him running up the stairs._

_"Hey now, don't cry," whispered a voice and a hand touched the soft spikes. Naruto buried himself in his brother's arms, sobbing into his chest. "Don't cry, little man."_

_"No one will play with me! It's like before! I hate it! I just don't want to be alone!" he cried through his misery._

_"They wouldn't play with us either when we were kids. Don't think for one minute you are alone," Dante told him._

_ Virgil gazed into Naruto's eyes. "You are a son of Sparda, sons of Sparda do not cry. Furthermore, you are my little brother. Our little brother. As long as we are here you will never be alone, that is our promise to you," Virgil ran his fingers through Naruto's hair. _

_ The boy smiled, he was not alone. _

---End---

Naruto yawned and walked out to the balcony. The pineapple guy was gonna fight that girl from Sand. He smiled and looked down at them. He didn't notice the blood running down his arm. _'That's right, I'm not alone anymore.'_

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'Little Man' is an endearment for a guy who's practically my little brother, I always call him that when he's sad so it seemed fitting. What do you think of Naruto's loss of control? The horns are more or less permanent :) but can be hidden!

Please review! hugs all


	10. He Will Lose

Hey guys, I am soooo sorry I've been gone so long! Stuff came up, I passed my driving theory so now I can learn to drive, yay. Note lack of enthusiasm.

Thanks for everyone that reviewed! Thanks for everyone that waits to read what I write!

Enjoy!

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**Chapter 10**

Naruto winced as he felt his horns and the tender flesh that surrounded them. He couldn't understand why they wouldn't retract. At the moment they were mostly hidden by a mass of pale spikes matted with his dark blood. He could feel the thick darkening fluid running down his neck.

There was the click-clack of talons as Simon hopped along the railing in a very crow-like manner toward the boy slumped against them. He settled next to the tan forearms, one with rivets of blood, and turned beady eyes to the blonde boy. Simon took stock of the blood going a rusty colour as it dried. "You seem to be…ah…bleedin' there, governor," he commented.

"That's right" the son of Sparda replied shortly.

The crow sighed, as well as a crow could sigh, he hated it when the boy got like this. "Yous should be cleanin' it up 'fore we attract unwanted attention, yeah?"

"Not right this second, Simon. It's serving as camouflage," Naruto finally glanced at his brother's servant, but only sparingly.

Simon cocked his head curiously and hopped onto a gracefully slopping shoulder to get a closer look. He saw the rigged bone-growths, even pecked one to see its toughness. They were tapering nicely, the points would be deadly sharp when fully developed, Simon noted. They were still soft though, more very tough cartilage than bone at the moment. He could also see another set developing as lumps just above his hairline, positioned directly above the eyes. "Quite a mess here, young master. They ain't jus' gonna go away, if yous catch me meanin'."

"Tell me about it," the boy growled angrily. He cautiously felt them, fingers running tenderly over the tips. "Did…my brothers have this problem?"

"Well Virgil didn't manifest while in 'uman form at all, but Dante bloomed all a' once, with some 'elp from Virgil o' course."

"Help?"

"They say they was 'avin' an argumen', I say they was fightin'," Simon elaborated matter-of-factly.

Naruto was quite for a moment, he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I lost my eye patch," he commented, pointing to where it lay in the arena dust.

"We'll get yous another."

"Maybe I won't wear one anymore, maybe its time to stop hiding what happened to me all those years ago." Simon looked at Naruto sharply, no emotion played over the tan features.

Simon cocked his head once more and, if it was possible, a grin spread over his beak. "But, if I may be so bold, young master? You wouldn' be you withou' tha' to spit in the face o' the world."

An equally amused grin finally tugged at Naruto's lips, "is that so?" he asked lowly. "Well we'll have to stop off at home for another, I imagine. We can't have me no being me. Why, the very world should fall apart at the seams if it is so!" Simon was glad his companion was back to his old humorous self at last.

Naruto looked out over the arena and watched Shikamaru retreat. The guy was a calculator, a leader but never a fighter. That annoyed Naruto slightly, he knew who he'd trust to back him up one the field when all else failed. He tilted his head slightly as he heard soft footsteps approach from behind him. "She wants you blood," a cold voice murmured.

"Well, ain't that swell?" Naruto replied dryly, turning to face Gaara with a wry expression.

"She says it is richer than any we've had before, she says you are strong," the boy was almost in a trance and there was a gleam in his eye that Naruto wasn't all that fond of.

"That's a matter of opinion, I'm sure." By now their conversation had drawn many onlookers and eavesdroppers. "I'm not in the mood for your shit, Red," Naruto told him in exasperation.

Gaara just stared at the boy before him, a boy covered in blood and for all the world looking deadly. Both turned to Gaara's older brother as the boy asked; "What happened to you during the match?"

Naruto smiled, _now how do I explain that? _"My family has a bloodline limit and well, it causes blinding, almost animalistic rage. White-eyes was lucky I didn't take him to pieces right then and there."

"Why are you bleeding?" Red asked quietly in that dead voice of his.

Naruto's eyes became grim but the smile didn't fade, "I clawed out lumps of my skin I imagine, the rage is always preceded by a terrible headache. Sometimes clawing at my head actually feels better," he told them matter-of-factly. Suddenly Naruto's eyes flicked to the arena, now vacant since the girl from sand won. "I think your opponent is here, Red. I do so hate people that are late; I hate arrogant people even more, apart form myself of course. Why don't you go get ready for battle, hmm?" A flurry of leaves exploded in the centre of the arena, clearing to reveal Sasuke and Kakashi. Naruto smiled as Gaara left, showing a set of slightly pointed teeth.

He also left, his boots clicked as he strolled down the grey hallway. He thought he'd join Kakashi and Sakura in the stands, talk to them for a bit. All the other contestants were loners and dead boring. What he really needed was a good hard fight, something to take his mind off the throbbing pain in his head. He yawned, dislodging Simon slightly. The crow squawked indignantly and ruffled his feathers.

He could hear the battle commencing as he made his slow way up the steps in the stands to where he could sense the Konoha Nin. He could feel Gaara's malicious intent and his desire to draw blood; it was like hot air pressing against his face. He came to a stop next to Kakashi and Sakura, who were watching as Sasuke dodged yet another attack by Gaara. Sasuke looked to have copied Lee's speed and was using it to his advantage. Naruto smile, "Sasuke will lose, you know."

Kakashi and Sakura turned to him, having not realised he was there. "Sasuke-kun will not lose! He is much better than that freak from Sand!" Sakura cried angrily, her face turning red.

"I don't doubt his abilities, far from it. He is adequately strong," Naruto told her, eyes still on the match.

Simon leaned forward from his position on Naruto's shoulder to caw: "what 'e means is that the nipper lacks the resolve ta kill in battle, like."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "death isn't always the answer." His voice was cold, his tone warning.

"Do you honestly think Red is gonna back off? Do you think he's gonna let rich boy win? Hell no! He'd die first! Sasuke is going to lose because he thinks he's got it so damn hard when he hasn't. His emo ass is about to learn that there are people that have had it far harder and have come through it in different ways. In short, Sasuke will lose." The last words were definitive, firm and low. Naruto was not playing games anymore.

"How would you know that! You don't know what he's been through!" Sakura shouted, drawing a little attention to them. The other losers of the Konoha genin were now listening.

"His family was murdered right? By his own brother? Something like that?"

Everyone stared, how did the stranger know this? Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes, "what kind a of person goes into a rival village without researching the up and coming genin they're gonna fight? Jeez." He scratched the back of his head and yawned, "I know what it feels like to wonder why you exist, why you suffer such pain for something you didn't do. Gaara lives alone, he cannot feel because he doesn't let himself feel. He was never loved. When you get to that point there's only one thing that makes you feel alive."

"What's that?" asked Sakura, now quiet at the threatening boy before her.

"Knowin' you can en' the life of another," cackled Simon, all eyes focusing on him. "Like the young master 'ere enjoys the pain and thrill of battle, that boy enjoys the death 'e will cause. S'like sayin' 'this is me, acknowledge my existence'."

There was a silent moment that was broken by Gaara's cry of pain as Sasuke broke his ultimate defence. Naruto watched as it collapsed and the boy lay bleeding. He'd been waiting for this, Gaara was going to go mad. He sighed, _well done, Sasuke_. "See I told you he would win!" Sakura gloated.

Kakashi suddenly started as dreadful chakra spewed out into the arena. It was deadly and angry and hating all at once. He had no time to dwell on it as a huge explosion rocked the stadium. In the stands before people were dropping asleep like flies and nin were whirling about in confusion. When he went to look at the Sand nin he was being taken by his siblings under the cover of invading Sound ninja. "Sasuke, go after them!" he called to his young student. He looked to the genin, most had dispelled the justu.

Kakashi only noticed Naruto as he walked past him, making no attempt to get rid of the illusion. One eye was blind and the other eye currently had an elliptical pupil, it was very heard to fool a devil's eye. He looked up sharply as a nin lunged for Sakura, the others were entangled in battle and could not help her. To his surprise he found himself defending her, Cerberus flashing out in a blur. He needed to pursue Gaara, he couldn't wait here! "Simon! Help me you arrogant ball of feathers!" he barked.

"I was jus' waitin' for yous ta ask!" called the crow and suddenly he was a crow no more. Before them stood a French aristocrat, his long black hair tied back with an even darker ribbon. His clothing was black and he wore shin-length boots. He pulled at his white, lace cuffs slightly before drawing a perfectly polished rapier. "You go, young master," he told Naruto in a flawless voice, "I shall hold the fort here." The sword whipped up into an opening position, his pale features becoming calculating.

"Thank you, Simon." Naruto placed his hand on the ground and called out to Mercury. The horse burst through the shadows and snorted blue flame at a passing enemy. He trotted to Naruto's side, tossing his head irritably. Just as Naruto was about to mount him he heard: "can you take me with you?" It was Sakura and he was in no mood to argue. He dragged her onto Mercury behind him and set his heels into the stallion's sides.

Mercury reared, screaming his fury as he mane and tail burst into blue flames. His pawing hooves were similarly engulfed. The horse galloped away, easily vaulting the wall into the Konoha forest, not needing to be told that speed was of the essence. As Sakura screamed Naruto asked, "I take it you've never ridden before then?" while laughing at her terrified reply. He turned his attention back to more important things like finding Gaara. How was he to know that one of the most hated enemies of his family was just waiting for him to leave?

* * *

How was it? I know its short but it's the same as before, I didn't want to group this with the fight Naru will have with Gaara. Read and review! Please?

- D. over and out!


	11. Debt Made, Price Paid

Hey guys...I know I've been gone a while. What can I say? I making statements and stuff to apply to uni and my courses just got tons harder! Thank you all those that have stayed with me and suppoted me. Darkravie, I owe you for that. Thanks to many others as well.

Hope you like this chapter, I did rewrite it because I wasn't happy at first. I'm happier with this version but knowing my typing there will be typos that I somehow manage to miss. If you see any, review and tell me!

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**Chapter 11**

Mercury was a dark blur as he shot through the forest like a bullet. His blue flames setting light to nearby vegetation as he brushed past it, leaving a steady burning trail. There was thunder in his hooves as they pounded the dir beneath them, sounding for all the world like the steady beat of war drums. He snorted angrily as the wind whipped his face causing two jets of indigo flame to briefly flash through the air.

On his sleek, ebony back Naruto hung on for dear life. His eyebrows drew together as he brought his concentration to bear on the stead beneath him. His hands gripped the fiery mane and he knew it was only a matter of time before the hellfire burnt through his leather gloves. He began chanting under his breathe, but found he couldn't get the words out correctly because of the force of the wind on his face. He yelled in frustration and kicked Mercury in the side, "give us hand!" he growled, all patience gone.

The horse jumped wildly to one side, causing Sakura to screech. He angrily threw back his head and screamed in a way that was more like a lion than a horse. Instantly after that, however, black, sleek reins appeared under Naruto's hands and a bridle on Mercury's head. Similarly, a saddle formed beneath them.

Naruto, now finally able to fully control Mercury present course, urged the horse faster. As Sakura screamed, again he turned to growl; "can you please hush it down back there, it makes this damn horse very hard to steer with you yakking in my ear!" Not surprisingly, she shut up.

Kankuro and Shino barely had time to look down as a blur of blue and black shot between them. Mercury was not happy being urged into the trees in such an abrupt many and managed to kick the sand-nin quite proficiently. Naruto laughed as the tall boy was pelted into a tree and they continued on their course regardless.

Naruto, however, was not prepared for what greeted them when he finally broke into the clearing where Gaara and Sasuke were duking it out. There were trees hanging like broken toothpicks, leaves crumpled and floating lazily to the floor. Sasuke, gasping in pain with twisted black etching covering his pale, pale skin. Gaara, well he was just weird unto himself. His sand had coiled around him, undulating as if alive, forming a tail and clawed arm. He was drooling and laughing insanely.

The red head glanced and the new arrivals, Naruto suddenly got a very bad feeling. It was proved true as a jet of sand shot from Gaara's hand faster than he could follow. Sakura was jettisoned of Mercury's back with amazing force and slammed into a nearby, thick-trunked tree. She fainted as the sand tightened like a vice around her, slowly suffocating her.

Sasuke made an indignant sound and tried to rise to her aid. He was shocked when the one that pushed him down was not Gaara but the nin from Hidden Sword. "I don't think so, buddy. You ain't in no condition to fight no one," Naruto told the stubborn bastard. He completely ignored Gaara as he called Mercury to his side. "Take this," he said while dumping Sasuke on the disgruntled horse's back, "to Konoha eh? Take it easy, he's got some fractured ribs there…"

The horse looked to challenge him for a moment before moving away into the forest at a steady, yet speedy trot. He was gone within seconds.

Naruto sighed and turned to face the irate boy behind him. He ran a hand through his silvery hair tiredly, peeking through it at his salivating opponent. "I suppose there's no chance of you backing down at all, right?" he said with all seriousness.

Gaara gripped his head, grinning insanely. "We need your blood. We need it!" The following cry was almost animalistic.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Here was me thinking we could do this easy, huh. Not a fucking chance." He pulled Cerberus from his belt and swung him once experimentally. "I could've been like you, y'know? All the symptoms were there…But I let my family help me. Safer than ignoring them, I suppose." He jerked his head up to gaze with cat-like eyes into Gaara's sickly yellow gaze. "Let me help you, stranger. Let me help you rest."

Naruto shot forward and Gaara roared with excitement. His sand arm swiped at the small figure of Naruto, only to miss as Naruto ducked beneath the wide sweep of the offending limb. His blades cut the underside as he dashed beneath it, causing Gaara to howl in anger. Naruto did not anticipate sharp sand spikes jutting out in response. The wild dodge this caused allowed him to be caught by Gaara's tail. He winced as he pulled himself out of a tree a second later.

He cricked his neck and flowed forward once more, yet all his hits seemed ineffective. He rebounded of the arm and tail like a fly, more annoying than an actual attacker. That sand also seemed to be creeping along Gaara's skin more and more as the battle progressed. The possession was becoming deeper and deeper. But, who was doing the possessing?

_Shugaku…_

The voice brushed across his mind like a whisper, the dream-talk of a long forgotten tenant. _Hello there, Kyuubi. _Naruto and Kyuubi had never been on bad terms, they were just too different. Though they were both devils of a nature they could not understand the reasoning of each other. Through the well of emotion from his tenant Naruto felt deep rage, an age old grudge against the demon that stood encased before him.

_Piteous, squabbling, little sand-rat. Needs to be put in his place…_the voice hissed once more. Kyuubi was silent after that, for Naruto's shields were strong. Form the information Kyuubi had gifted him with Naruto could only assume that Shugaku was of the same clutch that Kyuubi was, Bijuu. They were too troublesome for hell and left to roam the mortal planes instead.

Naruto, truly pitied Gaara. Humans were never meant to contain such power; the sealer of Kyuubi had known this. The body was too weak, the chakra flows the pitiful. A demon could never be convinced to house another of its kind, either. That only left half-breeds that had to be of a certain calibre. Rare, but not unheard of. Gaara was an example of a human fracturing under the weight.

The sand had now consumed a great deal of Gaara's form, Naruto was amazed he was not crushed under the weight of it. It was utterly grotesque, twisted, an abomination. To think Gaara must have known he could become this was terrifying; the child he had been must have lived in terror. The image, however, stirred an equally detestable beat within Naruto. Kyuubi's power tried to push to the surface to combat his ancient foe. It writhed like worms beneath his skin.

Naruto felt his teeth lengthen, his hair grew wild and, for a moment, the world was painted in red. Kyuubi could push a devil trigger past Virgil's, now broken, seal if he really tried. "Get back in the cage, fur-ball" Naruto growled irritably as he prepared himself for one final attack. As with Neji, he could risk a long battle, it was too dangerous. He thoughtfully began to swing Cerberus in a wide, lethal arc above his head at a fast speed. His blood glinted on the three blades.

Words in an archaic tongue spilled from his lips, guttural and disjointed. The blades glowed with a harsh, bright light that also ebbed from Naruto's eyes. It flicked menacingly, almost like flames with a will of their own. Gaara, or the creature that was him, hunkered down in preparation of an attack.

As his breath misted Naruto darted across the clearing in a blur of speed and brutality. Cerberus was invisible as it seemed to slice the very air above his head with deadly force. Gaara, expecting a side attack, moved to defend himself. He had not predicted that his foe would aim for the very weak section of his sand armour bellow the tail. For a moment all he felt was a light, cold tap and then nothing.

Suddenly, ice spread out like a consuming shadow from Naruto's point of touch. As it had contained Gaara's sand in the prelims it sought now to contain him. It move swiftly and crept like a vine, wrapping him in great sheets of ice. Naruto watched as it swallowed him whole. When it was finished he raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. The ice exploded in a flurry of shards.

Gaara collapsed in pain, even his armour was no match for an attack of such precision. He smiled, a worthy enemy was there at last. This one would make him feel truly alive. He cackled as the sand around him whirled and grew and undulated and expanded. Naruto watched, wide eyed, as the small boy turned into a huge monster made of sand.

Gaara gazed down at his opponent with a smug smile. "Now I will use my ultimate technique," he said simply, pulling his hands into a seal. Almost instantly he fell forward in a deep self-induced sleep. Shugaku roared to the surface triumphantly.

Naruto gazed as the demon promised his death, raising a huge sand paw with which to smite him. _To think I'd be driven to this…I cannot risk a transformation. I had hoped that would finish him…feh!_ He swung Cerberus thoughtfully before tossing him high into the air, the swords hung there as if suspended by some imaginary force and for a moment time jilted to a stop. "I name you Gatekeeper, I name you Ice, I name you Old One and He Who Is Chained. With these names I bind you, with these names I call you to do my bidding! I call you to my command, Keeper of the Eastern Gate, Cerberus and Dog of Hell!"

For a moment there was a rusty silence. Then deep voices, "you know the price, young master. You know what must be paid for a crossing." The voices spoke with one mind, three overlapping rasps.

"I understand, debt made and price paid."

"Then it will be done." Time moved again as the shadows around Naruto's feet writhed. The great paw of sand plummeted down as they grew and formed shape. It collided with a white-furred shoulder. As Shugaku looked down, three sets of blue eyes met his gaze.

He leapt back to take a good look at the creature before him. It was a large dog with three heads; each head had its teeth bared and ears flattened to its skull. Its fur was a mixture of white and pale blue. Around the base of the three necks was a large, black, studded collar fitted with a ring form which dangled a broken chain. Its tail was bushy and long, if it had been a mortal dog the closest breed in comparison would have been a large, aggressive Alsatian. Upon the middle head stood Naruto, his arms folded and his expression deeply serious. This dog was undeniably a demon and a very powerful one. For the first time Shugaku was apprehensive about this boy.

"I will need to wake the boy, that will shatter Shugaku's power and hopefully we can get away without too much collateral damage." Naruto's voice was clipped, commanding and calculating. Cerberus was hard pressed not to see the resemblance to Virgil in that tone.

"We will distract as best we can," the dog growled. The middle head opened wide jaws filled with needed teeth and a roar reverberated around the forest. An icy blast shot out of its mouth and the dog leapt forward, freezing Shugaku to the spot. The demon took advantage and his three sets of jaws clamped down on the raccoon demon with crushing force. Shugaku shrieked and desperately tried to throw the dog off.

When this appeared to not be working, the raccoon demon drew a deep breath. This was the only warning Cerberus and Naruto had before three bullets of wind struck Cerberus in the stomach, causing him to wheel away, yelping in pain. The dog growled even louder and dodged a few more bullets while Naruto's gripped his fur tightly to stay aboard. "All you need to do is hold him, if only for a moment. I will give that kid a hell of a wake up call!" he growled, his voice becoming rough and demonic.

The dog demon leapt forward once more. This time the left head also roared causing ice armour to cover both the demon and Naruto, protecting them as wind bullets bounced harmlessly off the impenetrable shell. The right head raised its own voice which caused two great icicles to stab into the sand hands of the raccoon, pinning it down. The centre head's icy breath shot forward as well, sealing the raccoon's feet and tail. The great demon landed on Shugaku and held him down, large jaws nashing threateningly.

Naruto darted from the centre head, easily melting through the ice armour. He lunged up the head of Shugaku and raised a fist. For a moment he hesitated and gazed at the prone and asleep form of Gaara. "Sorry, man," he said cheerfully as his fist smashed into the red head's face. The form of Shugaku shattered as green eyes fluttered open and suddenly they were both falling, Cerberus disappearing also in an explosion of icy wind. Naruto gave Gaara an extra kick and they both landed on dirt bottom of the clearing, unable to move.

Naruto laid panting and a voice whispered, "Debt made and price paid." Naruto closed his eyes in preparation; a deliberate breach of his father's barrier had consequences after all. His lower body exploded in a haze of pain, he heard his blood splatter across the ground beneath him. He coughed blood onto his front too, his breathing now a rasp. He looked at his body from the chest down and found it a bloody, ripped, wrecked mess. "Well…fuck!" he grunted.

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I hope you like the end of this chapter, I do. I think its a nice cliffhanger. Sad thing is folks is that this is the penultimate chapter of this arc. The next chapter will be the last, the next arc will be set after the time jump! I have planned the ending to this one and am happy with it so far, but do tell me what you think.

I used Cerberus as Naruto's summons because I don't think he would've learned how to use Jiriya's summons Gamabunta and Cerberus is bound to his family as Dante defeated him in honourale combat (third game).

My next fic will be a Kingdom Hearts 2 crossover and AU fic, guessed I like crossovers yet? You think this a good idea? Review and tell me!

Now I must go, very tired, long day, hate school. See you next update! gives cookies to all


	12. Homeward Bound

Well its been a long run but this is my final chapter. I know its short, sorry about that.

I just want to thank all my reviewers that have stuck with me over all this time. I will soon be embarking on another fic (Project Nobody) as well as a sequel for this fic! I hope you take the time to read both!

ENJOY!

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**Chapter 12**

Naruto's body crumpled to the earth in a bloody, mangled mess. Naruto's legs lay in tatters, the skin was shredded beyond recognition and that was only the visible flesh. Dark patches of blood were also beginning to show through his clothes. The blood running down his chin convinced him of organ damage. Wasn't life just looking up?

He heard Gaara's wheezing breath and the scuffle of his sister coming out from her hiding place. He coughed again feebly. "Ain't this just the ticket," he laughed to himself.

He felt Gaara's eyes on him and looked at the redhead as he asked; "why fight? Why bleed? Why do you do it for these strangers?" The boy's tone was incredulous, disbelieving.

Naruto looked up at the blue sky for a moment. "A stranger helped me once, when I was close to death. Everyone is a stranger before they are a friend. That pain people like us carry, that loneliness, it doesn't last forever. A day will come when you and I will stand in the sun and all will declare us equals. Or at least that is what my brother say," Naruto snorted slightly.

Gaara was silent for a moment, then he breathed a deep sigh. Naruto knew he had reached him, he knew Gaara would change. As he smiled to himself Temari asked "what happened to you?"

"Sometimes summons require you to give them something to invoke them, I gave a promise of my blood. Once the summons was finished he took his pay from my flesh." Naruto grinned, even though he was in agony. It was more serious than he let on as summoning Cerberus, a gate guardian, was not an easy feat. It had used up most of his power and Kyuubi's reserves were all depleted. In short, he could not heal himself. He was a sitting duck.

Suddenly Gaara jerked his head to the side and the sand around Sakura simply began to dissolve. It all happened so fast that none of the nin were able to react and as for Naruto, he could not even walk. As she fell a neon blue blur shot through the air. It pieced her shirt and pinned her to the tree inches from the ground. The blur turned out to be a flaming blue sword. While the other nin stared in awe, Naruto was staring an abject fear. He glanced around wildly before rolling on his front and trying to drag himself away, leaving a slight trail of blood. Behind him he heard the slow heavy tread of hooves and soft clink of armour. He heard the others gasp and slowly turned around.

Before him was an enormous black horse with a mane and tail of blue flame, far taller and hardier than his Mercury. The horse was garbed in shining, steel armour and a moulded black saddle. Astride the horse sat a knight with a cerulean blue cap around his shoulders and a katana at his waist. He stared down at them. Naruto audibly gulped as the rider dismounted, his armour disappearing a flurry of blue flame as his mount vanished in a burst of shadow. His hair was silver and swept back; his eyes were like cut blue crystal. The cap had become a blue coat cut in a Japanese style. His eyes bored into Naruto as he said coldly, "just where do you think you are going?"

Naruto's eyes widened as he was approached and he began to stutter. "I-I-I was j-just-"

"You were just what?" Blue eyes roved Naruto's maimed form angrily.

Naruto felt it would be best if he just shut up. He looked at the ground, ashamed of his broken condition.

"That's what I thought," that eloquent voice barked. "Look at you! You are a mess! How on earth did this happen?"

That was not a tone to be disobeyed. "A planear summons that in defiance of the great barrier" he murmured, wincing slightly.

A slap resounded through the clearing as a pale hand collided with Naruto's cheek. His head whipped to the side and he tasted blood. Virgil was brimming rage, he'd never hit him before. "That was incredibly dangerous! If you had thought things through maybe you would not have been driven to such drastic measures! The problem is you don't think at all!"

Naruto hung his head in shame. Then he felt a hand on the top of his head, pale fingers tugged at his hair. He looked up as Virgil crouched down next to him. He sighed and a thin smile twisted his lips. "What would we have done if something happened to you?"

Naruto grinned back, "be less annoyed?"

"I don't know, I still have one other annoyance to deal with," Virgil rolled his eyes, a dramatic gesture from him.

"Hate to change the topic but I'm losing blood here," Naruto chuckled. "I can feel a faint coming on," that said he keeled over.

Virgil chuckled and propped him against the trunk of a nearby tree. He had not the power to heal him here, a visit to Konoha hospital was in need. He turned to the sand siblings. "May I look at your younger brother?" he asked politely.

"Just who are you?" Kankuro growled, trying to be threatening.

"I am also an older brother," Virgil told him. "I can help your brother; I think that is why mine called to me." He placed a pale hand on the symbol on Gaara's forehead. He wrapped his mind around the demon within the boy's body; it was a shell of its former self. It was weak and pathetic really. He called upon an older power to create shackles for the beast of sand. He heard it curse as they wrapped around him. He looked up at them, "that should be better, he may now sleep at night."

The thunder of hooves announced Kakashi's entry, he was riding Mercury. A decision the horse was obviously not happy about as he disappeared as soon as Kakashi dismounted. As he collected his student Kakashi asked Virgil, "Just who are you?"

"I am Virgil of the Hidden Sword. I have the unfortunate responsibility of being Naruto's teacher and his brother," Virgil rolled his eyes once more.

Kakashi could tell the tall man did not mean his words, there was a softness in his eyes as he spoke of his little brother. Kakashi looked at Naruto, the boy was bleeding heavily. "We should get him to the hospital," he told Virgil.

"That we should," Virgil scooped up Naruto and, together, they journeyed back to Konoha.

-------

When Naruto awoke the first thing he registered was that he was lying in a white bed. He slowly pulled himself upright and grimaced as his legs flared in pain. He looked around; the room obviously belonged to a hospital. He heard a tittering to his left and turned to see Simon perched on the desk beside him. "Y'alright, young master?" he asked with a grin, if crows could grin that is.

"What happened in my absence, Simon?" was Naruto's reply.

"Orochimaru attempted an invasion and 'e failed. The third 'okage of Konoha gives 'is thanks for aidin' 'im the battle. His funeral is tomorrow," the bird ruffled his feathers.

"That was nice of him. Oh, and take a message to Jiriya for me; we'll speak as soon as we can. What else?"

"Well, the master dropped you off 'ere an' moved on to Damascus as I un'erstand it. 'e said yous would be alrigh' making your own way 'ome."

"Easy enough, when do we take the train?"

"We're ta be escorted later today, young master." Simon gazed at the boy in the bed, hating how pale he looked. Even with advanced healing Naruto suffered greatly with serious injuries.

"Sweet. That's makes life easy, we'll soon be home and easy eh?" Naruto laid back and closed his eyes slightly, a smile spread across his features. "You'll need to close of the apartment gate in the abandoned district as well, I'd do it but you know."

The crow sighed, "now you're jus' bein' lazy," he complained.

"How dare you be mean to an ill person! I could die you know!" Naruto knew Simon wasn't convinced at all by the fact that the crow flew away through the open window, refusing to even acknowledge his statement.

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Naruto's last hours in Konoha passed without much ado. Jiriya visited him and the two struck up an alliance between Konoha and Hidden Sword, better known as Devil May Cry. Jiriya was to become their contact in the east, he was a seal expert and would know of things like plane breeches. It was he who escorted Naruto to the station where Naruto could get a train home. "See you around, right kid?" he said ruffling the soft blonde hair.

"Of course! Otherwise who'd tell all those poor women about what a pervert you are?" Naruto waved his farewell, Simon on his shoulder.

All too soon he was in front of those familiar oak doors and flickering neon sign. He pushed them open and a girl turned to look at him. He stood there for a moment unsure what to say. She stood up and said, "oh are you a customer?"

Naruto began to laugh loudly at the fact that she didn't know him and the fact that she was in their office. "No I'm not a customer!" He looked at the cluttered pizza boxes, "D's living off pizza again huh? Has he paid his tab this month?" he asked the girl.

"How do you know Dante? More importantly who are you?"

"That, Paula," said a voice from the side door that lead to the kitchen, "is my younger brother Descartes, better known as Naruto." Dante emerged into the shop, shirtless as usual. "How you doin', little brother? Heard you had quite the injury?"

"It's fine now," Naruto growled as Dante ruffled his hair playfully. "Why do you work for this jerk?" He asked the girl, now identified as Paula.

"Someone has to look after him," she told him with a smile.

"Damn right, he'd die if left alone! It's nice to meet you, by the way," he offered her a polite smile which she returned. He set down his bags and Simon disappeared, no doubt back to his own realm. Naruto took a seat behind Dante's desk and grabbed a slice of pizza. He was about to bite when the phone rang and he picked up the reciever warily. "Yes?"

"Is this Devil May Cry?" said a hesitant voice.

"Why yes, yes it is..." It was at this point that Naruto decided that life was good.

End

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Well that's it folks. Arc 1 is complete! I hope you all like it! (gives out cookies) I think the name of the girl in the DMC anime is Paula, if not please do tell me! PLEASE REVIEW! I hope to see you all in my other fics! 


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